A defence of "reasonable publication" and a statutory Press Council are among the proposals for changes in defamation law made by a legal advisory group set up by the Government.
The proposals would allow for the publication of stories about matters of major public importance, without having to be able to prove everything in them in court.
They also recommend the setting up of a Press Council with representatives of the general public, as well as of media organisations, to draw up a Code of Conduct for the media.
The report was published yesterday, and will be followed by a consultation process, including a conference of all interested parties in the autumn, before the publication of a new Defamation Act next year, according to the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
The setting up of the advisory group followed a commitment in the Programme for Government to reform the libel laws, in the context of a statutory Press Council and improved privacy laws. It was established last September, and the report, which includes a draft of a new Defamation Act, was completed in March, but only brought to Cabinet this week. The Cabinet agreed to its publication, but has not committed itself to any of the recommendations.
The chairman of the group, Mr Hugh Mohan SC, said that it had attempted to reconcile two competing interests: that of the press, which had a seminal role in a democratic society, and that of members of the public who feared its power and saw it as overbearing, often just playing for headlines, and needing to be curbed.
"We tried to put together a system where there would be checks and balances," he said.
The defence of reasonable publication relates to matters of public importance and public benefit. It would allow a media organisation to examine, for example, serious allegations against public figures relating to issues like planning, and publish these allegations, provided it believed them to be true, had investigated them thoroughly, and had given the person adequate opportunity to refute them.
The defence would apply even if the allegations did not turn out to be true, either fully or in part. Mr Mohan also said that there should be less costly and speedier ways of resolving conflicts arising out of alleged libel.
The report includes proposals for publications making apologies that are not admissions of legal liability, and for the lodgement of a sum in court without an admission of liability. Remedies other than damages include a declaratory judgment and a correction order.