Review Panel
A Review Panel (“the Panel”) consisting of three members will be appointed by the Board of the ASAI. Each Member will hold office for a term of five years or for such shorter period of time as the Board of the Authority in its discretion considers appropriate. Members of the panel can be appointed for a further term/terms provided always that the maximum cumulative period of time which a member may serve is ten years and, for the avoidance of doubt, any member who has served for 10 years will not be eligible for reappointment.
• The Panel will comprise a Chairman and two ordinary members.
• The Chairman of the Panel will be independent of the advertising industry and the ASAI. One ordinary member will have a background in the advertising industry and the remaining ordinary member will have a consumer, or non-advertising industry, background.
Basis of Review
Applications for a review can be made to the Panel on one or more of the following grounds:
• New, fresh or additional relevant evidence has become available, which could have a significant bearing on the Decision concerned (in such cases, an explanation as to why such evidence was not previously available and/or provided, will be required);
• The Decision concerned was clearly and manifestly in error having regard to the provisions of the Code, was wholly irrational, or clearly made against the weight of the evidence before the Complaints Committee at the time of the making of the Decision;
• There was a substantial flaw in the process by which the Decision was reached.
The onus is on the applicant for a review (“the Applicant”) to make out a sufficiently strong case in relation to any of the aforementioned grounds that are the subject of the relevant application for a review.
No review will proceed if the point at issue is the subject of simultaneous or contemplated legal action between anyone directly involved.
Application for a Review
An application for a review (“Application”) will only be accepted from the parties to the original complaint and must be submitted on the designated application form (“Application Form”). Any one of the parties to the original complaint may apply for a review of a Decision. Such requests should be sent within 21 days of the date on the ASAI’s letter of notification of the Decision. The Review Panel may waive this 21-day time limit if they judge it fair and reasonable to do so.
For consumer applicants, there will be a nominal charge of €30. For advertiser applicants the fee will be €5,000 (save for registered charities in respect of whom the fee will be €2,000) and for applicants involved in competitive complaints, the fee will be €5,000. These charges will be reimbursed if the Decision is ultimately substantially altered in favour of the applicant, or reversed, by the Complaints Committee.
Review Procedure
Having received the application form and any submissions forwarded by the Executive, the Panel will first decide whether the application should be accepted. When an application for a review is accepted by the Panel, the Executive will forward a copy of the application form to the other parties to the original complaint and seek submissions from such parties in relation to the application.
Any submissions received will then be forwarded by the Executive to the Panel.
The Panel will then consider all the submissions concerned. The Panel may, in addition, seek or obtain such further information and submissions as it thinks appropriate, fair and reasonable in the circumstances. Having considered the foregoing, and taking into account the fact that the onus is on the applicant to make out a sufficiently strong case, it will then decide as follows
Either
That the application does not meet any of the three grounds for review set out above. The Panel may find, in this regard,
• that it is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the new, fresh or additional evidence is relevant, or sufficiently relevant, and/or that the said evidence could not have a significant bearing on the Decision concerned, and/or that the explanation for the previous non-availability and/or non-provision of the said evidence is satisfactory; and/or
• that it is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the Decision concerned was clearly and manifestly in error, having regard to the provisions of the Code, wholly irrational, or clearly made against the weight of the evidence before the Complaints Committee at the time of the making of the Decision; and/or
• that it is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that there was a substantial flaw in the process by which the Decision concerned was reached,
and that, accordingly, no further action will be taken on foot of the application.
Or,
That it is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that one or more of the three grounds set out above has been met. The Panel may find, in this regard,
• that it is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the new, fresh or additional evidence is relevant, or sufficiently relevant, and/or that the said evidence could have a significant bearing on the Decision concerned, and that the explanation for the previous non-availability and/or non-provision of the said evidence is satisfactory; and/or
• that it is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the Decision concerned was clearly and manifestly in error, having regard to the provisions of the Code, wholly irrational, or clearly made against the weight of the evidence before the Complaints Committee at the time of the making of the Decision; and/or
• that it is satisfied that there was a substantial flaw in the process by which the Decision concerned was reached.
And that the case should be referred back to the Complaints Committee to be reconsidered accordingly.
In either case, the Panel will set out the reasoning for the Panel’s decision, and the decision will be communicated by the Executive to all parties involved.
For the avoidance of doubt, in reaching its decisions the Panel will not be bound by any interpretation by the Complaints Committee of any provision of the Code which formed part of the decision under review.
There is no appeal from a decision of the Panel and, as provided for at Paragraph 27 of the Complaints Procedures, the decision of the Complaints Committee will stand, pending the outcome of the reconsideration by the Complaints Committee (if applicable).
Where a case has been referred back to the Complaints Committee to be reconsidered, the Committee will have regard to the decision and reasoning of the Panel and will, as it considers appropriate,
• affirm or vary its original decision,
Or
• annul its original decision and make such decision as it considers proper in relation to the matter concerned.
In either case, the decision of the Complaints Committee is final.
The Executive will advise all relevant parties of the Decision of the Complaints Committee. Adjudications that are revised following a review will be published on the ASAI website www.asai.ie.
