Blackstone's Statutes Series 
Caddell & Johnson: Media Law 2eBlackstone's Statutes Series
Useful Supplementary Materials
Advertising Standards Authority Codes (www.asa.org.uk/asa/codes/) on Broadcast and non-Broadcast Advertising. They are available to read online or to download in PDF format.
Radio Advertising Standard Code
Online version:
www.asa.org.uk/asa/codes/radio_code/
PDF version: www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/41D3786B-1B9A-4C6A-B2E9-09C6C5EB928C/0/BCAP_Radio_Advertising_Standards_Code_20060703.pdf
Non-broadcast Advertising Codes
Online version:
www.asa.org.uk/asa/codes/cap_code/
PDF version: www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/A44808F1-1573-482A-A0E5-D8045943DA57/0/The_CAP_Code_Ed11_20060703.pdf
Sensitive Reporting in Coroners Courts, Discussion Paper, Ministry of Justice, 2008
In 2007 the Government dropped what was then cl.30 of the Draft Coroners Bill which entitled coroners to impose reporting restrictions where there was no public interest in reporting events which might cause great distress to relatives, particularly where children were involved. The dropping followed intense media pressure – the Discussion Paper proposes changes to the Industry self-regulatory Press Complaints Commission Code: in effect requesting the media to act in a more restrained and sensitive manner in their reporting.
www.justice.gov.uk/docs/sensitive-reporting-coroners.pdf
Conditional fee agreements in publication proceedings: success fees and after the event insurance
August 2007: Ministry of Justice provisional proposals in relation to controversial use of conditional fees (popularly known as ‘no win, no fee’ actions). The site also contains responses. The proposals have been put on ice pending a more major review of use of conditional fees generally.
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp1607.htm
Video Games Classification: a consultation, Department of Media Culture & Sport, 31 July 2008
The DCMS has published proposals in relation to the classification of video games and examines the current mixture of statutory and self-regulation systems both in the UK and the EU – the statutory system under the Video Recordings Act 1984 is operated by the British Board of Film Classification. The document proposes four options for possible adoption.
www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/5345.aspx
Public Consultation on Implementing the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, Department of Media Culture and Sport, 25 July 2008
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has published the first consultation document of the revisions to the Broadcasting Directives 1989 & 1997 by the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (a consolidated version of all three directives is in the 2nd edition of the statute book). The Consultation Document focuses on three areas of implementation: firstly the concept of co-regulating video-on-demand services (so-called non-linear services which are brought within the scope of EU broadcasting regulation for the first time) - co-regulation is basically first tier industry self-regulation overseen with backstop powers by a statutory body (a UK example is the co-regulation of television and radio advertising by the self-regulatory Advertising Standards Authority and the OFCOM); secondly whether the UK should take up the option of allowing greater use of product placement (UK Government initially hostile to the notion); and thirdly the regulation of channels from outside the UK which uplink from the UK.
www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/5309.aspx
Implementation of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive:
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has issued a number of consultation documents on how the UK will implement the new Directive which will amend the Broadcasting Directives 1989 & 1997 (‘Television Without Frontiers’ Directives) and which the UK has to implement by 19 December 2009 – the consolidated Directives aim to create an internal single market in television and internet broadcasting in the European Union – the various consultation papers can be accessed on the DCMS website:
www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/5309.aspx
Reform of Television Advertising and Introduction of Product Placement in UK
The new AVMSD provides for liberalization of the rules on advertising and their extension to internet broadcasting services and also the optional possibility of permitting product placement in certain categories of programmes, which is currently prohibited under UK broadcasting – OFCOM have published two consultation documents on the topic:
www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/rada/ &
www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/rada08/
Council of Europe Transfrontier Television Convention (TTF)
The Council of Europe has published a Preliminary Consultation Document which seeks to align the current version of the TTV with the European Union’s Audiovisual Services Media Directive – the document can be accessed on the DCMS website:
www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/consultations/5489.aspx
This will have important implications for those countries in the Council of Europe but not in EU such as Ukraine, Russia, and Serbia etc.
Open Justice in the Family Courts
The Ministry of Justice has published a second consultation paper – ‘Family Justice in View’ which considers responses to the first paper on the topic and how to carry forward ideas to open up the family courts to greater public scrutiny but also, particularly in the case of children, to ensure suitable protection for the privacy of often vulnerable parties – the consultation document and responses from interested parties can be accessed on
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp1007.htm
Data Protection
Following several highly publicized scandals by public authorities such as the Inland Revenue in losing subject data information a variety of proposals have been to strengthen the powers of the Information Commissioner who is also the Data Protection Commissioner and oversees the operation of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Ministry of Justice has published a Consultation Document and the Responses to it in relation to the ‘Inspection Powers and Funding Arrangements for the Information Commissioner’ which can be accessed on:
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp1508.htm
Witness Anonymity
The Ministry of Justice has published a circular seeking to explain the provisions of the Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008 – emergency legislation passed to put on a statutory footing provisions to protect the anonymity of witnesses in criminal cases. This follows the House of Lords ruling in R v Davies [2008] UKHL 36 (18/6/08) which held there was only very limited power to grant witness anonymity at common law consistent with the Human Rights Act 1998 – for text of circular see:
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminal-evidence-witness-anonymity-2008-02.htm
The text of the Act can be accessed via the Legislation section of this website.
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