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"Honored delegates,
During the mid-morning break, the Committee on Urban Order met to discuss the current situation in Westcrown. Among our many concerns was the proliferation of slander and libel in our city, which was among the many contributors to the unrest on the Third. Just this past week I have seen false and malicious claims circulating accusing innocents of diabolism, of consorting with fiends, of participating in the riots, and of many other crimes just as severe. There is no reason this situation should be permitted to continue.
When the publishing bill was debated on this floor, His Highness the Archduke expressed the sentiment that banning slander was a matter of great importance. The Committee on Urban Order agrees, and believes as well that it is a matter of great urgency, for the sake of peace in Westcrown. In committee, we unanimously voted on a proposal to address this matter, modelled after the laws against slander in Arodenite Cheliax, with modifications to suit the needs of Cheliax as it exists today.
1) It is a crime to publicly make, aloud or in writing, a false, scandalous, or malicious claim about another person, or to clearly or intentionally imply such a claim.
2) It is a crime to privately make a false, scandalous, or malicious claim about another person, or to clearly or intentionally imply such a claim, unless the statement is true.
3) Neither of the above statutes shall apply if the claim is made directly to a person empowered to make lawful arrests, as part of a formal investigation of malfeasance, provided that the claim is true. They shall also not apply to truthful testimony at formal trials or similar proceedings, nor to the verdicts of said trials, nor to true and non-misleading statements about the findings of such trials.
4) A "scandalous or malicious" claim does not describe every possible negative claim. For example, it is not scandalous or malicious to claim that a man drinks to excess, if such a claim is true. Magistrates are directed to apply their discretion in determining whether a claim is scandalous or malicious.
5) A claim made about a group may be a violation of this statute, if such a claim clearly implicates distinct individuals and this statute would otherwise apply.
The punishment shall at minimum be a fine that in the magistrate's judgment accurately reflects lost income and standing as a result of the slander, and shall not be more than the punishment for the conduct ascribed to the victim, be it a crime, or more than exile from Cheliax, if the conduct ascribed to the victim is not a crime. In cases where a claim violating this law is made intentionally to a wide audience, or published in print to wide distribution, the magistrate should by default apply the maximum sentence, unless the claim is revoked immediately or other mitigating circumstances apply, in which case the magistrate is directed to apply his discretion.
Thank you for your consideration. With your help, I hope that no man will need to fear the sort of vile accusations that have become commonplace on the streets of Westcrown."
