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17 Professional Regulatory
                                  Bodies



                                  Tom Cassels








             17.1 Introduction


             There are numerous occasions where a person has a valid complaint about something that has
             been published or broadcast about him, but has no recourse to the law. For example, articles
             can be distressingly inaccurate but not in a way that gives the subject of the story a legal
             cause of action. There are other occasions where the subject of a feature has a right to sue,
             but either cannot afford to do so or prefers to avoid the aggravation of litigation.

             In such cases an alternative avenue of complaint is provided by the Press Complaints
             Commission in respect of newspapers, and the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the
             Independent Television Commission and the Radio Authority in respect of television and
             radio broadcasts.

             Regulatory bodies are often used as mediators in situations where publication of an offending
             story would be a breach of the regulatory body’s relevant code. For example, Princes William
             and Harry have been treated with respect following the death of the Princess of Wales partly
             as a result of a request for restraint by Lord Wakeham, the former chairman of the Press
             Complaints Committee.

             The importance of regulatory bodies and their codes of practice is likely to grow as a result
             of the incorporation into English law of the European Convention on Human Rights Article
             8 right to privacy and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression by the Human Rights Act
             1998. In addition, Section 12 of the Human Rights Act 1998 requires the court to have regard
             to the provisions of any relevant privacy code when considering the right to freedom of
             expression.



             17.2 The press: history of self-regulation

             For those that believe media excess is a modern phenomenon, a study of the newspaper
             industry’s regulatory history is an enlightening experience. Outrage at the perceived
             misbehaviour of the press has been with us for as long as newspapers themselves.
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