{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defamation-and-malicious-publication-scotland-act-2021/section-25",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defamation-and-malicious-publication-scotland-act-2021/section-25.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2021/10",
  "legislation_title": "Defamation and Malicious Publication (Scotland) Act 2021",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/defamation-and-malicious-publication-scotland-act-2021",
  "path": "section/25",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "25",
  "heading": "Statements conveying two or more meanings",
  "text": "(1) This section applies where proceedings are brought under this Part in respect of a statement that is capable of conveying two or more distinct meanings.\n(2) It is not necessary for the purposes of deciding whether harm has occurred for the court to determine—\n(a) which of the meanings is conveyed by the statement in the circumstances, or\n(b) that one meaning should be preferred to the exclusion of the other or others.\n(3) But nothing in this section prevents the court from excluding or disregarding possible meanings where it considers it appropriate to do so.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 25 in force at 8.8.2022 by S.S.I. 2022/154, regs. 1(2), 2"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/10/section/25",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:12:34.201134+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}