A new landmark Bill has been passed today which will help reduce the fear of potential litigation when giving an apology.
The Bill was passed in the form of a Members’ Bill lodged by Margaret Mitchell MSP.
It is hoped that without the fear of litigation, a culture of apologising will be encouraged.
This will result in individuals and organisations being more willing to disclose where something went wrong, with a viewing to preventing a future occurrence.
Crucially, it will give the individual - seeking the apology - closure.
And the aim of the Bill is to give legal certainty that an apology made by a body or person cannot be later used against them in certain legal proceedings.
The new law could potentially save significant sums of money for the taxpayer.
Scottish Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell said:
“I am gratified that the Scottish Government has taken on this common sense approach and worked collaboratively to pass this Bill.
“The Bill seeks to ensure that when people want an apology for an act or an omission, this can be given without them having to take legal action or even issuing a complaint in the first place.
“In addition to benefiting both the person seeking the apology and the apologiser, it has the potential to result in preventative spend savings in both the public and private sector.
“Apologies legislation has been passed in other countries including the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand but the Apologies (Scotland) Bill now ensures that Scotland is leading the way in the UK on this issue.”