This criminal offense was developed in the English Court of Star Chamber in the 17th century to prevent dueling in defense of reputation and to stifle political criticism. Canadians today can initiate civil actions to recover monetary compensation and obtain other civil remedies such as injunctions. The criminal law is not needed for this purpose. Defamatory libel is currently punishable by up to 2 years in jail and a maximum of 5 years when the defamation is known to be false. Retention of the law creates an unhealthy, unwarranted damper on journalistic and artistic expression and conflicts with the provisions of Canada's new Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteeing freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression. Although the crime is seldom prosecuted, four Canadians were sentenced to jail for defamatory libel in the 10-year period studied by the Law Reform Commission of Canada. Footnotes which contain references are supplied. (Publisher summary modified)