Writers combine to call for defamation law reform

More than 100 Scottish writers and authors have published a call for urgent reform to the Scottish law of defamation.

Ian Rankin, James Kelman, Neal Ascherson, Val McDermid and Christopher Brookmyre are among 115 signatories to a letter published in today's Herald, which claims that with the law having last been reviewed nearly 20 years ago, it has failed to keep pace with the radical changes brought by the internet.

"In England & Wales, citizens now have more freedom to debate the issues that matter to ordinary people", the writers claim. There, legislation in 2013 tackled issues such as "libel tourism" and corporate libel bullying.

In contrast, "Citizen campaigners and investigative journalists in Scotland can still face defamation threats from wealthy individuals and companies who do not care to be criticised, and there is now a risk that libel tourists will start bringing cases to Edinburgh."

A law that is fit for purpose for the 21st century, they add, would be "one that acknowledges the existence of the internet, and enables journalists and authors to conduct a robust debate on matters of public interest".

The Scottish Law Commission has announced plans to review the law in its programme of work which came into operation last January. The authors say this "should be undertaken with urgency, and we call on the political parties of Scotland to commit to updating the law in the next Parliament".

Responding to the call, Lord Pentland, chairman of the Commission, said: "We are well advanced with our work in the important and sensitive area of defamation law reform and are on course to publish a detailed discussion paper in the early part of next year. This will provide a framework for what we are confident will be a lively and open public debate about freedom of speech and related issues in modern Scotland and the role of the law in safeguarding these rights.

"There has been important recent reform in England & Wales with the Defamation Act 2013 and there is a need to consider in detail the extent to which that serves as a suitable model for reform of Scots law. In the light of the consultation exercise, the Scottish Law Commission will make recommendations to the Scottish
Government on the need for and content of legislation."