The Act Section 9 - Protection from actions of defamation
25.This section makes it clear that any information submitted with a reference under section 2(1) or 4(1) attracts qualified privilege (that is, it is privileged for the purposes of the law of defamation unless it is actuated by malice). It also makes it clear that qualified privilege applies to observations made in response to invitations made by the Scottish Ministers to comment on a reference or on the observations of others.