Limitation 15 32 Limitation of actions of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 (limitation of (1) Section 18A defamation and other actions) is amended as follows. (2) In subsection (1)— (a) after “defamation” insert “or under section 21, 22 or 23 of the 2020 Act (actionable 20 types of malicious publication)”, (b) for “3 years” substitute “one year”. insert— (3) After subsection (1), “(1A) Where— (a) a person publishes a statement to the public or to a section of the public 25 (“the first publication”), and (b) the person subsequently publishes (whether or not to the public) the same statement or a statement that is substantially the same (“the subsequent publication”), any right of action against the person for defamation or under section 21, 22 30 or 23 of the 2020 Act in respect of the subsequent publication is to be treated as having accrued on the date of the first publication. (1B) Subsection (1A) does not apply where the court determines that the manner of the subsequent publication is materially different from the manner of the first publication. 35 (1C) In determining whether the manner of the subsequent publication is materially different from the manner of the first publication, the court may have regard to— (a) the level of prominence that the statement is given, (b) the extent of the subsequent publication, and 16 Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Bill Part 3—General (c) any other matter that the court considers relevant.”. (4) In subsection (2), after “defamed” insert “or harmed by a malicious publication in a manner described in section 21, 22 or 23 of the 2020 Act”. (5) After subsection (3) insert— 5 “(3A) This section continues to have effect in relation to a statement which was published before the day on which section 32 of the 2020 Act comes into force as if it had not been amended by section 32 of the 2020 Act. (3B) In determining whether subsection (1A) applies, no account is to be taken of a statement which was published before the day on which section 32 of the 10 2020 Act comes into force.”. (6) In subsection (4)— (a) for paragraph (a) substitute— “(aa) “the 2020 Act” means the Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2020,”, 15 (b) in paragraph (b)— (i) after “construed” insert “(subject to subsection (1A))”, (ii) for “publication or communication” substitute “statement”, (iii) after “defamation” insert “or, as the case may be, under section 21, 22 or 23 of the 2020 Act”, 20 (iv) for “first came to the notice of the pursuer.” substitute “was published, and”, (c) after paragraph (b), insert— “(c) “statement” has the meaning given in section 36 of the 2020 Act (interpretation).”. 33 Interruption of limitation period: mediation 25 After section 19CA of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 (interruption of limitation period: arbitration) insert— “19CB Interruption of section 18A(1) limitation period: mediation (1) In any computation of the period specified in section 18A(1), any period of mediation in relation to a relevant matter is to be disregarded. 30 (2) For the purposes of this section, a period of mediation— (a) begins on the day on which a mediator is appointed by the parties, and (b) ends on such day as the parties may agree or, otherwise, on the day— (i) on which a party notifies another party that they are withdrawing from the mediation, 35 (ii) which falls 14 days after the day on which a party makes a request confirmation that another party is continuing with the mediation for (and no response has been received), or 17 Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Bill Part 3—General (iii) which falls 14 days after the day on which the mediator resigns or dies or otherwise becomes incapable of acting (and no replacement has been appointed). (3) In this section— 5 “mediation” means a structured process, whereby two or more parties to a dispute attempt, with the assistance of a mediator, to resolve or reduce disagreement between or among them with a view to resolution of the dispute without recourse to court, “mediator” means an independent person who is appointed by the parties 10 to conduct a mediation, whether or not for remuneration, in an effective, impartial, and competent way, “party” means a party to the mediation, and “relevant matter” means a matter to which a limitation period applies by virtue of section 18A(1). 15 (4) This section does not apply to a cross-border dispute within the meaning given by section 19F(4).”.