Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
At its meeting on 4 February 2020, the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the delegated powers in the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Bill ("the Bill") at Stage 1.
The Committee submits this report to the lead Committee for the Bill, the Justice Committee, under Rule 9.6.2 of the Standing Orders.
The Scottish Government has provided the Parliament with a memorandum on the delegated powers provisions in the Bill.
This Scottish Government Bill was introduced by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf MSP, on 2 December 2019. The lead committee is the Justice Committee.
The Policy Memorandum prepared by the Scottish Government states that the overarching policy objectives of the Bill are to modernise and simplify the law of defamation (and the related action of malicious publication) in Scotland in order to:
strike a more appropriate balance between freedom of expression and the protection of individual reputation; and
clarify the law and improve its accessibility.
The Bill will place certain key elements of Scots common law on a statutory basis. At the same time, the Bill replaces and restates, in one place, elements of the existing statutory provisions.
The Committee considered each of the delegated powers in the Bill. The Committee determined that it did not need to draw the attention of the Parliament to the delegated powers in the following provisions:
Section 2(6) – Prohibition on public authorities bringing proceedings
Section 3(6) – Restriction on proceedings against secondary publishers
Section 4(1) – Power to specify persons to be treated as publishers
Section 34(1) – Provision of information society services
Section 38(1) – Ancillary provision
Section 39(2) – Commencement
Schedule, paragraph 17(1) – Reports and Summaries etc. by Scottish Ministers’ designees
The Committee therefore reports that it is content with the delegated powers provisions contained in the Bill.