Broadcasting Act 1981

54 Function of Commission

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the function of the Commission shall be to consider and adjudicate upon complaints of—

(a) unjust or unfair treatment in sound or television programmes actually broadcast by a broadcasting body on or after 1st June 1981 ; or

(b) unwarranted infringement of privacy in, or in connection with the obtaining of material included in, sound or television programmes actually so broadcast.

(2) The Commission shall not entertain complaints not falling within subsection (1).

(3) In this Part—

• " broadcasting body " means the BBC or the IBA ;

• " complaint" means a complaint to the Commission of any such unjust or unfair treatment or unwarranted infringement of privacy as is mentioned in subsection (1);

• " participant " means—

  (a)

  in the case of a sound programme, a person whose voice was heard in the programme ;

  (b)

  in the case of a television programme, a person who appeared, or whose voice was heard, in the programme;

• " the person affected "—

  (a)

  in relation to any such unjust or unfair treatment as is mentioned in subsection (1), means a participant in the programme in question who was the subject of that treatment or a person who, whether such a participant or not, had a direct interest in the subject-matter of that treatment;

  (b)

  in relation to any such unwarranted infringement of privacy as is so mentioned, means a person whose privacy was infringed ;

• " the relevant programme", in relation to a complaint, means the programme in which the alleged unjust or unfair treatment occurred or in which, or in connection with the obtaining of material included in which, the alleged unwarranted infringement of privacy occurred;

• " unjust or unfair treatment" includes treatment which is unjust or unfair because of the way in which material included in a programme has been selected or arranged;

and references in this Part to television programmes and programme contractors include references to teletext transmissions and teletext contractors respectively.