Commentary on Sections Offers to make amends
82.Subject to a limited number of departures of approach, sections 13 to 17 of the Act replace sections 2 to 4 of the Defamation Act 1996 insofar as they apply to Scotland, relating to offers to make amends. Section 18 makes transitional provision in relation to those sections of the Act.
83.In essence, the offer of amends procedure provides a route by which a person against whom proceedings for defamation are brought may seek to make amends as an alternative to defending the proceedings. The offer may relate to the statement in general (i.e. an “unqualified offer”), or only to a specific defamatory meaning conveyed by the statement (i.e. a “qualified offer”). In making an offer of amends, be it qualified or unqualified, the person making the offer is conceding, as appropriate, that the statement in general or the specific meaning to which the offer relates is defamatory.