General provision
Section 24: Limit on requirement to show financial loss
121.Section 24 provides that a pursuer in proceedings under Part 2 does not need to show actual financial loss if the statement complained of is more likely than not to cause financial loss. This replaces an equivalent provision in section 3 of the 1952 Act, which is repealed by section 35 of the Act.
Section 25: Statements conveying two or more meanings
122.The effect of section 25 is to exclude the application of the single meaning rule from proceedings brought under Part 2. The effect of that rule, in relation to defamation proceedings, is to provide a mechanism to allow the judge or jury at a proof or trial to determine which of the meanings that may be attributed to a statement is the true meaning to be attributed to the statement in all the circumstances of a case. It is that meaning, and that meaning only, which will be considered from the point of view of determining whether the statement has been defamatory of the pursuer as a matter of fact.
123.Subsection (2) of section 25 provides that, where proceedings are brought under Part 2 in respect of a statement that is capable of conveying two or more distinct meanings, it will not be necessary, in deciding whether harm has occurred, for the court to determine either which of the meanings is conveyed by the statement in the circumstances or that one meaning should be preferred to the exclusion of all others. Subsection (3) clarifies that nothing in this section prevents the court from excluding or disregarding possible meanings where it considers it appropriate.
Section 26: Damages for anxiety and distress
124.Section 26 provides that, in determining the appropriate amount of damages to award in proceedings under Part 2, the court may take into account any distress and anxiety caused to the pursuer by the statement complained of. This is a subsidiary head of recovery; it can only be factored in, as part of the general head of damages, where there has been economic loss. Also, it does not affect any other basis of claim that may be available to a pursuer in proceedings under this Part (as per subsection (2)).
