The Criticism of Trading Corporations and their Right to Sue for Defamation

TLDR

The article examines corporate reputation and defamation under English, German, and ECHR law, noting that a company's reputation is a property right distinct from individuals and that trading corporations, as public figures, enjoy broad freedom of speech that must be balanced against their property interests on a case‑by‑case basis. The study argues that English case law’s presumption treating trading corporations as individuals in defamation claims requires refinement and reconsideration. The authors conclude that a company's reputation is protected under Article 1(1) of the First Protocol to the ECHR, rather than Article 8(1).

Abstract

The article examines reputation and defamation of corporate claimants under English and German law and the law of the ECHR. It elaborates on the premise that the presumption of English case law, according to which a trading corporation is in the same position as an individual with regard to a defamation claim, needs refinement and reconsideration. In contrast to individuals, the reputation of a company results exclusively from the conception of reputation as property. As a consequence, the constitutional basis of a company's reputation is article 1(1) of the First Protocol to the ECHR, and not article 8(1) ECHR. Trading corporations are public figures, and therefore speech about them is per se public speech, enjoying considerable freedom of speech protection that has to be balanced against the company's property right on a case-by-case basis.