The Court of Appeal has varied an order made by a Master in the defamation proceedings involving Matt Peltier, Angelo Allen and WICE, changing the terms that had been set in the lower court.
The appeal concerned the Master's order against the three parties, and the appellate court has now adjusted that order rather than leaving it as originally framed. The variation means the terms binding the parties are no longer those set out by the Master alone.
Defamation proceedings of this kind turn on the balance between protecting reputation and allowing public discussion, and orders made at the interlocutory stage can shape how a case proceeds long before any trial. The Court of Appeal's decision therefore affects the practical position of Peltier, Allen and WICE as the matter continues.
The case has drawn attention because it involves named individuals alongside an organisation, and because defamation claims in Dominica are followed closely by media practitioners and public figures alike. The variation of the Master's order does not by itself resolve the underlying claim; it concerns the terms imposed at an earlier stage of the litigation.
Further details of the Court of Appeal's reasoning and the precise terms of the varied order are expected to be set out in the court's written decision. Parties to the matter will now proceed on the basis of the appellate court's order rather than the Master's original terms.
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