Law and ethics
Fair comment
Also: honest opinion
A defamation defence for honestly held opinion on a matter of public interest, based on true facts. Now often called honest opinion.
Fair comment, or honest opinion, is what protects a reviewer who pans a restaurant or a columnist who criticises a politician. The opinion has to be genuinely held, on a matter of public interest, and built on facts that are true and stated. It protects opinion, not invented fact, which is the line critics and columnists must never cross.