{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scottish-parliamentary-commissions-and-commissioners-etc-act-2010/section-5",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scottish-parliamentary-commissions-and-commissioners-etc-act-2010/section-5.json",
  "legislation": "asp/2010/11",
  "legislation_title": "Scottish Parliamentary Commissions and Commissioners etc. Act 2010",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scottish-parliamentary-commissions-and-commissioners-etc-act-2010",
  "path": "section/5",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "5",
  "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 a member of the Commissioner’s staff in pursuance of the Commissioner’s functions under the Ethical Standards Act ... the Parliamentary Standards Act or the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 is absolutely privileged,\n(b) any statement made by the Commissioner or a member of the Commissioner’s staff in pursuance of the Commissioner’s other functions has qualified privilege, and\n(c) any statement made to the Commissioner or any member of the Commissioner’s staff in pursuance of the purposes of the Ethical Standards Act, the Parliamentary Standards Act ... the Public Appointments Act or the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 has qualified privilege.\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. 5 substituted (1.7.2013) by The Public Services Reform (Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland etc.) Order 2013 (S.S.I. 2013/197), art. 1, Sch. 1 para. 5"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Word in s. 5(1)(a) repealed (12.3.2018) by Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 16), ss. 38(3)(a)(i), 52(2); S.S.I. 2018/73, reg. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in s. 5(1)(a) inserted (12.3.2018) by Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 16), ss. 38(3)(a)(ii), 52(2); S.S.I. 2018/73, reg. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Word in s. 5(1)(c) repealed (12.3.2018) by Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 16), ss. 38(3)(b)(i), 52(2); S.S.I. 2018/73, reg. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in s. 5(1)(c) inserted (12.3.2018) by Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 16), ss. 38(3)(b)(ii), 52(2); S.S.I. 2018/73, reg. 2"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2010/11/section/5",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T20:15:24.644769+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."
}