The Independent Review process is open to advertisers, complainants or broadcasters who have been a party either to a Final Ruling of the ASA Council or a Council decision not to further investigate a complaint beyond initial assessment.
A party has 21 days from the date on the ASA’s letter of notification of the final decision to ask the Independent Reviewer of ASA rulings to review the case.
The Independent Reviewer can only accept the request if one or both of the following tests is established:
- a substantial flaw of process and/or ruling
- additional relevant evidence is available that could not reasonably have been made available during the investigation
Advertisers, complainants or broadcasters contemplating a request for review should study the relevant terms of reference carefully, ensure that they are signed by the appropriate person and submitted in time and in writing to:
Independent Reviewer of ASA rulings
7th Floor North
Artillery House
11-19 Artillery Row
London
SW1P 1RT
email:
indrev@asbof.co.uk
Requests should come only from the complainant, the advertiser or the broadcaster. Those from the advertiser or broadcaster or from a corporate complainant must be signed by the Chairman, Chief Executive or equivalent office holder; requests made only by their solicitor, agency or clearance centre will not be accepted. All dealings with the Independent Reviewer must be in writing.
Full terms of reference of the Independent Review procedure for non-broadcast rulings are set out in the CAP Code and in the ASA Procedures for Investigating Complaints under the BCAP Code for broadcast rulings.
The Council’s rulings on reviewed cases is final. Rulings that are revised following a review will be republished on our website.
The Independent Reviewer’s report of his activities is included in our Annual Report and a list of Independent Review outcomes is enclosed below in line with our commitment to transparency:
