MOSCOW, January 2 (RAPSI, Ingrid Burke) - With the start of the new year, a new set of defamation laws aimed at striking a more appropriate balance with free expression rights has taken effect in England and Wales.

According to a statement released by the UK’s Ministry of Justice announcing the legislation’s entry into force, whereas the former libel laws had faced criticism for being perceived as “outdated, costly, and unfair,” their successors aim to suitably balance the right to free expression and the imperative of open and honest public debate with the interests of individuals and entities wishing to prevent unjust attacks on their reputations.

“The introduction of these new measures will make it harder for wealthy people or companies to bully or silence those who may have fairly criticised them or their products,” Justice Minister Shailesh Vara said, as quoted by the statement.

The Defamation Act 2013 introduces a “serious harm threshold,” which aims to deter trivial claims that threaten free speech and clog court dockets.

Under the previous defamation laws, journalists, scientists, and academics had been targeted with unfair legal threats on bases of having legitimately criticized companies, individuals, and products, according to the statement.

The Act extends protection to a variety of individuals and circumstances, including to those wishing to publish material reasonably believed to be in the public interest, and to academics and scientists publishing peer-reviewed journal articles.

The laws further aim to prevent “libel tourism” by imposing more stringent requirements in terms of a connection with England and Wales before a claim can be launched in its their courts.

The laws would further make it more difficult to go after secondary publishers if claims could reasonably be brought against the primary publisher instead.