Quick overview
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Defamation is a criminal offence under the Criminal Code if someone spreads a false allegation that can significantly damage your reputation.
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In less serious cases, it can be a civil offence.
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The most common defence is a defamation action under the Civil Code, which can lead to an apology or financial compensation.
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If the defamation is serious (e.g. it harms your work or business), a criminal complaint can be filed.
If someone has damaged your reputation, we can help you by drafting a pre-suit notice or a defamation lawsuit.
Criminal defamation
What does the Criminal Code say about defaming others? Can I be prosecuted for anything I put out that is untrue about another? No. Defamation can only be prosecuted in cases of the most serious interference with personality rights that cannot be effectively remedied by private law means.
The Criminal Code remembers defamation in the provisions of section 184, which states that whoever makes a false statement about another that is likely to significantly jeopardise his esteem among his fellow citizens, in particular to damage his employment, disrupt his family relations or cause him other serious harm, shall be punished by imprisonment for up to one year. A higher penalty, i.e. imprisonment for up to two years or prohibition of activity, applies to defamation committed by means of the press, film, radio, television, a publicly accessible computer network or other similar means.
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Let’s emphasize what distinguishes defamation characterized as a crime from relatively ordinary comments about other people. The crime of defamation must have the following characteristics:
- The published statement is untrue – if a tabloid reveals that a well-known politician has a mistress in addition to his wife, but the article is based on truth, it is not defamation no matter what harm the text causes him.
- The statement is liable to cause a significant threat to respectability, for example in the family or at work. Here the term “substantially” is relevant, which in practice can mean, for example, divorce, sacking from a job or, for example, upsetting business plans, diverting business partners, etc.
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Tip: Up to two-thirds of criminal reports are dropped. So how do you go about filing a criminal complaint, who can file it, and what three things to look out for before you do so? That’s what we look at in our article.
How to react to defamation and how to defend against it legally?
Completely banal gossip (in legal terms) – for example, two friends gossiping about the appearance of a third friend – should simply be ignored, or you should try to explain yourself to the face of the gossiper. Surely such an act can make you feel humanly sorry. But from a legal perspective, there is not much to address here.
The first line of defense is to file a civil lawsuit in the local district court. This option is based on the Civil Code, which states that every natural person has the right to protection of his or her personality, life and health, civil honor and human dignity, as well as privacy, his or her name and expression of personal character.
In the proceedings, it is assessed whether the defamation in question has affected, for example, the defamed person’s privacy, honour, dignity, etc., and what the consequences have been for that person. As a result, the unjustified interference may be ordered to be dropped or a public apology or financial compensation for the damage caused.
The first step towards redress may be a pre-action notice. Often, this will help you avoid court altogether. However, it usually needs to be drafted by a solicitor.
In our experience, a pre-action notice, whereby the solicitor asks the defamed person to remove the statement and apologise, is often the quickest solution.
Very often today we see defamation on the internet – typically in Google reviews or on social media. The most common mistake in such cases is that the victim reacts emotionally or starts spreading the rumour further. This can exacerbate the situation and complicate a potential lawsuit.
If the defamation could cause ridicule or damage to the defamed person, it could be an offence. The Misdemeanour Act refers to conduct that “injures the honour of another by ridiculing or otherwise grossly offending him”. In such a case, the offence can be reported to the locally competent municipal authority, which will deal with it in an administrative procedure.
It is necessary to describe precisely what the defamation was, who uttered it and when, and what the effects of the defamation were. In the context of the offence proceedings, the defamer may be ordered to pay a fine of up to CZK 10,000 and to apologise to the person defamed. If the defamation has caused harm, the victim may seek financial compensation in civil proceedings.
The offence of defamation is committed if the defamation is really significant and intense and has a greater potential for harm. It may significantly jeopardise the reputation of the defamed person among his fellow citizens, damage his employment, disrupt his family relations (as a result of the defamation, his marriage is broken or other family ties are severed) or cause him other serious harm.
Imagine, for example, a situation where a newspaper publishes a (false) article about a well-known clergyman in the Catholic Church, claiming that he is homosexual and has several sexual partners, and publishes a fictitious interview with one of them. This can very soon bring his career to an end and seriously affect the private life of the person concerned.
It is possible to seek protection of rights and legitimate interests against this type of defamation by filing a criminal complaint, in which case the matter will be dealt with by the Police of the Czech Republic and the offence will then be dealt with in the criminal justice system.
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Tip: You don’t have to be the perpetrator of the crime, or even plan it, and you can still be directly affected by the criminal proceedings. All it takes is for someone to steal a bike of greater value and you are already part of it as a victim. While any role in the criminal process is unenviable, it is worthwhile for everyone involved to know the different stages of the criminal process. We take a closer look at this topic in our separate article.
What determines the possibility of using criminal proceedings?
As we have already mentioned above, it is not enough to file a criminal complaint and initiate criminal proceedings if someone has defamed us and caused us harm. It should also be clear that the situation cannot be effectively remedied by private law. The Constitutional Court has also commented on this in great detail in its ruling.
In Decision No II.ÚS 474/19, it dealt with a review of a law firm published by the complainant, which read: ‘Totally unserious conduct. An appalling experience. He contacted the opposing party and wanted to withdraw my lawsuit. I had to immediately withdraw my power of attorney. I filed a lawsuit against him in court to get my deposit back. He didn’t take a single legal action, yet he raked in my 18k. CZK as an advance.”
In the course of the criminal proceedings, the allegations were reliably refuted and the complainant’s allegation was described as defamation. Moreover, the review was capable of significantly damaging the lawyer’s standing with his fellow citizens and damaging his employment. Ultimately, the court imposed a sentence on the complainant at the lower end of the statutory sentencing range.
According to the Constitutional Court, there were no disputed issues of fact; in other words, it did not dispute that the matter had actually occurred as the courts had described it. However, it emphasised “the principle of subsidiarity of criminal repression, or the principle of ultima ratio”. According to that principle, the means of criminal law should and must be used only if the use of other legal means is not possible because they have already been exhausted or are manifestly ineffective or inappropriate.
Criminal law cannot serve as a substitute for the protection of individual rights and legal interests in private law relations.
For this reason, even the offence of defamation is intended to cover only the most serious acts and infringements of personal rights (honour and reputation), since the purpose of criminal law is not to regulate common defamatory conduct across the population.
What is the penalty for defamation?
The court may impose a prison sentence of up to one year on the defamer.
If the offence is committed by press, film, radio, television, publicly accessible computer network or other effective means, then the offender faces up to two years’ imprisonment or a ban on activity. The court may also order compensation for the damage caused by the offender to the defamed person.
How to prove defamation
In order to effectively defend against defamation, it is necessary to have evidence of what was said or published. We know that in practice, proving this is often one of the most difficult parts of such disputes.
If the defamation has appeared on the internet, it is important to save the evidence of its publication as soon as possible. Typically, screenshots of posts, comments or reviews are taken. It may also be useful to save a link to a specific page or use services that archive website content.
In some cases, witness statements can also be evidence. This applies to situations where someone has spread a rumour, for example, in the workplace, at school or in another group of people. Witnesses can confirm what information was said and what impact it had.
If the defamation caused specific harm, it may also be important to document the consequences. This may be, for example, a drop in business, loss of employment or cancellation of business.
In more serious cases, the court may also take expert opinions into account, for example if it is necessary to assess the extent of the damage to reputation or the economic impact of the defamation.
The earlier the evidence can be secured, the more likely it is that the defamation can be proved and successfully defended against.
If someone is spreading false information that is damaging to your reputation, the quickest way to defend yourself may be with the help of an attorney. We can help you prepare a pre-suit challenge and respond to improve your situation as quickly as possible.
Summary
Defamation, under the Penal Code, is the spreading of false information about another person that is likely to cause substantial harm to that person’s reputation, employment, business, or relationships with other people. If the interference is minor, it may be treated as a misdemeanour against civil coexistence. The victim may defend himself in several ways – by seeking the removal of the false statement, an apology or financial compensation through a personality protection action under the Civil Code, or by filing a criminal complaint. In practice, defamation often appears particularly on the internet, for example on social media or in online reviews, where it can spread quickly and cause long-term damage to a person’s or company’s reputation. In order to successfully defend defamation, it is important to provide evidence, for example by storing posts, screenshots or witness statements. If the defamation causes significant harm or the author refuses to remove it, it may be advisable to contact an attorney to help with a legal challenge or litigation.
