{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-public-order-and-criminal-justice-scotland-act-2006/section-46A",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-public-order-and-criminal-justice-scotland-act-2006/section-46A.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2006/10",
  "legislation_title": "Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/police-public-order-and-criminal-justice-scotland-act-2006",
  "path": "section/46A",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "46A",
  "heading": "Protection from actions for defamation",
  "text": "(1) For the purposes of the law of defamation—\n(a) any statement made by the Commissioner or any of the Commissioner's staff—\n(i) in carrying out a complaint handling review or in carrying out an investigation in pursuance of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of section 33A;\n(ii) in communicating with any person for the purposes of such a review or investigation;\n(iii) in a report on such a review or investigation; or\n(iv) in a report made under section 43,\nhas absolute privilege;\n(b) any statement made to the Commissioner or any of the Commissioner's staff in relation to an investigation carried out in pursuance of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of section 33A has absolute privilege; and\n(c) any statement made to the Commissioner or any of the Commissioner's staff in relation to a relevant complaint or a complaint handling review is privileged unless the statement is shown to have been made with malice.\n(2) In subsection (1), “ statement ” has the same meaning as in the Defamation Act 1996 (c.31).",
  "extent": "S",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 46A inserted (1.4.2013) by Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 8), ss. 70, 129(2) (with s. 100); S.S.I. 2013/51, art. 2 (with transitional provisions and savings in S.S.I. 2013/121, arts. 1(1), 11)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "word inserted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    },
    {
      "type": "words inserted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    },
    {
      "type": "word inserted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    },
    {
      "type": "inserted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    },
    {
      "type": "words inserted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    },
    {
      "type": "words inserted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "asp/2025/5",
      "affecting_title": "Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2006/10/section/46A",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:16:12.377722+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."
}