How official apologies are recorded

Parliamentary journals

A journal records what a house decided, not every word spoken. Australia's House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings No. 2 records that the Prime Minister moved the motion titled Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples on 13 February 2008 ¹. It records that the Leader of the Opposition seconded it, that members rose as a mark of respect, and that debate was adjourned ¹. The record is issued under the name of the Clerk of the House of Representatives ¹.

Secondary official accounts can differ in detail. The Parliamentary Education Office says the vote was unanimous in favour of the apology ². The journal entry for that sitting records no division on the motion itself ¹.

Debate records

Debate records hold the words spoken. The Houses of the Oireachtas publish the Dáil debate titled Magdalen Laundries Report, Statements, for 19 February 2013, in Vol. 793 No. 1 ⁴. It records the Taoiseach saying he apologised unreservedly to the women for the hurt done to them ⁴.

Cite a debate by house, date, volume and number where shown ⁴.

Statutes and resolutions

When a legislature apologises by law, the text is printed in the statute book. Public Law 103-150 was approved on 23 November 1993 and apologised to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United States ⁵. Its section 3 says it is not intended to settle any claims ⁵.

A one-house resolution has no public law number. Congress.gov records that S.Res.39 of the 109th Congress passed the Senate without amendment on 13 June 2005. It apologised to victims and survivors of lynching for the Senate's failure to enact anti-lynching legislation ⁶.

Government transcripts and statements

• GOV.UK publishes the 20 May 2024 Infected Blood Inquiry statement as a transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered ⁷.
• Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes the statement of 15 August 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the war's end ⁸.
• Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada publishes the 11 June 2008 statement of apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools ⁹.
• New Zealand's Ministry of Justice records that the Prime Minister apologised on behalf of the Crown in Parliament on 12 November 2024, and links to the full text ¹⁰.

Archives and displays

Australia's apology for forced adoptions of 21 March 2013 was given at an event in the Great Hall. Motions were then moved in both houses ³. A copy is on permanent display at Parliament House. The National Archives of Australia holds the document in its Forced Adoptions National Apology Collection ³.

Checking an apology record

• Find the primary record first: the journal, debate record or statute ^{1,4 5}.
• Check who spoke and in what capacity, such as on behalf of the Government or the Crown ^9,10.
• Check for limiting words, such as a clause on claims ⁵.
• Note any difference between the primary record and later summaries ^1,2.