Campaigners renew call for Scots defamation law reform

Campaigners for the reform of the law of defamation have renewed their call for Scots law to follow recent English legislation, following a proposal from the Faculty of Advocates.

Last week the Scottish bar highlighted defamation as one of the areas of law that the Scottish Law Commission should consider for priority when it draws up its new programme of work to take effect from January. (Click here for report.) The move has been backed by the Libel Reform Campaign, a London-based group which supported the Defamation Act 2013 introduced in England & Wales.

The 2013 Act was introduced in response to fears that London was becoming the "libel capital of the world", due to the previous law being weighted in favour of people complaining that their reputations had been damaged by published material, and too restrictive of free speech. It includes restrictions on trivial and vexatious claims, a new public interest defence, protection for peer reviewed papers, and limitations on corporations' ability to sue for libel.

Concerns remain however that claims could continue to be brought in Scotland, and Northern Ireland, that would now be barred in England – particularly in relation to online material online, which could be said to have been published in any jurisdiction.

The Libel Reform Campaign believes that the failure to reform Scots law "has left the people of Scotland with fewer free speech protections than their neighbours in England & Wales. We fear that this will result in the practice of libel tourism shifting from London to Edinburgh. Since publishers operate throughout the UK, an unreformed Scottish law has the potential to chill free speech everywhere in the United Kingdom, undermining the Defamation Act".

In its submission to the Scottish Law Commission, the Faculty contended that it was "important that Scots law in this area continues to take adequate account of technological advances such as the internet", with consideration being given to adopting the 2013 Act solutions in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has said that reform of the Scots law is being kept "under review".