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> Without a government to enforce that you stop lying, through fines or even prison time Is libel not a civil offence? I.e. the court case is person vs person
by JupiterMoon 11y ago
> Without a government to enforce that you stop lying, through fines or even prison time
Is libel not a civil offence? I.e. the court case is person vs person not state vs person. You confront the person lying in court and if on the balance of probabilities they can't demonstrate what they said to be true then they pay you compensation (plus costs). No one goes to jail, no fines are levied. The government's role is to provide a judge (and potential jury) and court room.
- vacri 11y agoAnd if they don't pay up?
- JupiterMoon 11y agoWell this would be a debt from the person who has defamed you to you (and potentially a debt to the state for their share of the court costs). I'm not massively familiar with what happens when someone doesn't pay a debt. As I understand it though. A civil case is heard, bailiff's arrive at the debtors property and their possessions are re-posed until the debt is cleared. These remain civil proceedings not criminal.