Irving v Penguin Books & Lipstadtcase 1996‑I‑1113 · QBD
11 Apr 2000
judgment of mr justice gray

Approved Judgment — 11 April 2000

The High Court's judgment in the libel action brought by David Irving against Penguin Books Ltd and Professor Deborah E. Lipstadt. Delivered at 10:30 on Tuesday 11 April 2000, in Court 73 of the Royal Courts of Justice — ~350 pages in the Penguin book edition.

before Mr Justice Charles Gray · handed down 11 April 2000

— the verdict —
"For the reasons given, the defence of justification succeeds in relation to the charges levelled at Irving's historiography, his denial of the Holocaust, and his alliance with extremists. The defence fails on the lesser sub-allegations relating to the Goebbels-diary microfiche and his participation in a particular conference; but by virtue of section 5 of the Defamation Act 1952, the failures on those subsidiary allegations do not save the action. The claim must fail."

Contents

14 sections · click to read
  1. IIntroductionA summary of the main issues · The parties10 ¶ · 2 sub
  2. IIThe words complained of and their meaningThe passages complained of · The issue of identification16 ¶ · 3 sub
  3. IIIThe nature of Irving's claim for damagesRelevant considerations · Irving's case on damages10 ¶ · 2 sub
  4. IVThe defence of justification: an overviewThe parties' statements of case · What has to be proved for the defence of justification to succeed21 ¶ · 4 sub
  5. VJustification: Hitler and the Jewish questionThe defendants' historiographical criticisms of Irving's portrayal of Hitler · The general case for the Defendants253 ¶ · 22 sub
  6. VIJustification: Hitler's knowledge of and responsibility for exterminationPreamble · Hitler's anti-semitism · The evolving policy145 ¶ · 9 sub
  7. VIIAuschwitzDescription of the camp and overview of the principal issue · The case for the Defendants in summary130 ¶ · 6 sub
  8. VIIIJustification: the claim that Irving is a "Holocaust denier"What is meant by the term · Whether Irving's statements qualify him as one in that sense37 ¶ · 7 sub
  9. IXJustification: the allegation that Irving is an anti-semite and a racistRelevance of the allegation · The material relied on by the Defendants21 ¶ · 3 sub
  10. XJustification: Irving's association with right-wing extremistsIntroductory · Case for the Defendants32 ¶ · 3 sub
  11. XIJustification: the bombing of DresdenIntroduction · The Defendants' criticisms of Irving's account55 ¶ · 7 sub
  12. XIIJustification: the Goebbels diaries in the Moscow archiveWhether Irving broke an agreement with the archive and risked damage to the glass plates20 ¶ · 2 sub
  13. XIIIFindings on justificationScheme of this section · Whether Irving has falsified and misrepresented the historical evidence168 ¶ · 11 sub
  14. XIVVerdictThe claim must fail1 ¶ · 0 sub
— full text rendered — The complete judgment (~12,000 paragraphs, ~837KB, 14 sections) is at judgment/gray.html. Each section anchor above jumps directly to its place in the rendered text.