Broadcasting Act 1981

54 Function of Commission. U.K.

(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

[F1 (b) unjust or unfair treatment in programmes actually included in a licensed cable programme service after the commencement of section 29 of the Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 otherwise than by the reception and immediate re-transmission of broadcasts made by a broadcasting body; or

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

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

(3) In this Part—

• “broadcasting body” means the BBC or the IBA;

• [F2 “broadcasting complaint” means a complaint in the case of which the relevant programme was broadcast by a broadcasting body;

• “cable programme complaint” means a complaint in the case of which the relevant programme was included in a licensed cable programme service otherwise than by the reception and immediate re-transmission of broadcasts made by a broadcasting body;

• “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”, in relation to a programme, means 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.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 54(1)(b)(c substituted for para. (b by Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 (c. 46, SIF 96), s. 29, Sch. 2 para 2(1)

F2 Definitions of “broadcasting complaint”, “cable programme complaint”, “complaint” and “ participant” substituted for definitions of “complaint” and “ participant” by Cable and Broadcasting Act 1984 (c. 46, SIF 96), s. 29, Sch. 2 para. 2(2)