Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021

1 Actionability of defamatory statements

(1) This section applies to a defamatory statement made or published by a person (A) about another person (B).

(2) A right to bring defamation proceedings in respect of the statement accrues only if—

(a) A has published the statement to a person other than B, and

(b) the publication of the statement has caused (or is likely to cause) serious harm to the reputation of B.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) (b), where B is a non-natural person which has as its primary purpose trading for profit, harm to B’s reputation is not “serious harm” unless it has caused (or is likely to cause) B serious financial loss.

(4) For the purposes of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

(a) a statement about a person is defamatory if it causes harm to the person’s reputation (that is, if it tends to lower the person’s reputation in the estimation of ordinary persons),

(b) a reference to publishing a statement is a reference to communicating the statement by any means to a person in a manner that the person can access and understand, and

(c) a statement is published when the recipient has seen or heard it.

(5) Nothing in this section affects a right to bring proceedings which accrued before the commencement of this section.