Commentary on Sections Part 1 – the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission Section 42: Reports: privilege
78.Section 42 provides for certain reports made by the Commission to be privileged for the purposes of the law of defamation; this will prevent such reports from being made the basis of an action for defamation unless the publication is proved to have been made with malice. The reports in question are interim and final reports on investigations; reports on trends in practice as respects the way in which practitioners have dealt with matters resulting in service complaints being dealt with by the Commission; reports on trends in practice as respects the way in which practitioners have dealt with matters that result in conduct complaints and on the way in which the relevant professional organisations have dealt with conduct complaints; and reports on the discharge by the Commission of its functions.