The Discussion Of The Legal Protection Of The Right Of Reputation Concerning The Tort On Media

Since general rules of civil law was enacted and put into effect in 1986, the press lawsuits is increasing rapidly in our country. In these press lawsuits, the infringement of the right of reputation is great majority. As a kind of human dignity, the right of reputation is affirmed and protected in laws such as constitution, criminal law and civil law. Whoever infringes it in wrongful manners, he or she must undertake the law liability concerned. It is important to vindicate the human dignity, avoid the suffering in spirit and have the natural social intercourse. As a result of the technology developing rapidly and the news promulgating means changing quickly, the right of reputation and other human dignities are infringed easily. So it is important to protect the human dignity such as the right of reputation in civil law.Since the press law and the tort on media in special have not been made out in China, it is narrow for regulations and interpretations concerning the infringement of the press on media in the existing laws and judicial interpretations. At present, there are two judicial interpretations, which are based on deciding the lawsuits, that is "the answer concerning the hearing of the lawsuits in the right of reputation" and "the interpretations concerning the hearing of the lawsuits in the right of reputation". As a result, it is very difficult to resolve disputes in practice and it is faced with the challenge of new questions. The infringement of the press on media is mostly concerned with the conflict among the freedom of press, the supervision by public opinion and protection of personal right of reputation. So it is important how torealize the balance between the right of reputation and the supervision by public opinion.The article is composed of five parts. The first part briefly introduces the press, the freedom of the press, the supervision by public opinion and the concept and characteristics of the tort of press. In second part, based on interpreting the reputation and the right of reputation, the article gives emphasis to the actualities of the protections of the right of reputation in legislation and judicature. Thirdly, combining the general theory of the tort and the characteristic which the news reports infringe the right of reputation, the article analyses detailedly four constitutive requirements of infringement of the right of reputation on media: illegal act and harmful consequence infringing upon the right of reputation in news report, the causality between harmful consequence and the illegal act and the subjective fault of infrenger. From analyzing the regulation of main liability body in other countries, the fourth part discusses the main liability body and manners of undertaking in the infringement of the right of reputation on media. Besides, it also explains the reasons of ground of pleading. Finally, the article brings forward the suggestions concerning legislation in the infringement of the right of reputation. It concludes that importing the "actual malice" in public official lawsuits aims to the protection for the news organization. The needless lawsuits will be decreased through constituting the system of damage compensating with punishment and the system of compensation if viciously impleading. There are many indefinite ingredients in press lawsuits such as deciding the damages of the spirit. So for realizing the justice, it should endow the discretion to the judges.