This section contains a selection of key rulings and decisions made by the PCC under the Editors' Code of Practice.

The text is taken from the Editors' Codebook - the official handbook to the Code written by the Editors' Code of Practice Committee. The Codebook brings together the Code and the case law that has developed through years of PCC adjudications, and provides a unique guide to how the Code works in practice. We have reproduced it on this website to provide further guidance on the various parts of the Code and to highlight some key rulings by Clause of the Code.

Please note that some of the links in the pdf documents will not work. However, the Codebook can be read in full on the Code of Practice Committee website here, where all links will function as normal.

THE PREAMBLE
Complaints made to the PCC would generally be raised under a specific clause of the Code of Practice. However, in some instances a complaint made may also raise a possible breach of the general spirit of the Code.

CLAUSE 1 (Accuracy)

CLAUSE 2 (Opportunity to reply)

CLAUSE 3 (Privacy)*

CLAUSE 4 (Harassment)*

CLAUSE 5 (Intrusion into grief or shock)*

CLAUSE 6 (Children)*

CLAUSE 7 (Children in sex cases)*

CLAUSE 8 (Hospitals)*

CLAUSE 9 (Reporting of crime)*

CLAUSE 10 (Clandestine devices and subterfuge)*

CLAUSE 11 (Victims of sexual assault)

CLAUSE 12 (Discrimination)

CLAUSE 13 (Financial journalism)

CLAUSE 14 (Confidential sources)

CLAUSE 15 (Witness payments in criminal trials)*

CLAUSE 16 (Payment to criminals)*

PUBLIC INTEREST
There may be exceptions to the clauses marked with an * where they can be demonstrated to be in the public interest. See the Editors' Code of Practice for further information about the public interest.

Many more examples of decisions can be found on this website here. You can also use the advanced search facility to search by publication name, decision, and Clause of the Code.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.