Compensatory damages ─ I put aside for the moment aggravating circumstances ─ in actions for defamation have many aspects: 1.the compensation for "insult offered and pain given", to borrow the words of Lord Devlin in Rookes v. Barnard, [1964] 1 All E.R. 367 at 413; 2.vindication of reputation; 3.injury to pride and self-confidence ─ this may just be another way of saying "insult offered and pain given"; 4.social damage and possible economic damage which may result but which cannot be expressly proven ─ this is particularly important, in my opinion, in defamation in the mass media.
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