Close-Up: Live Issue - Political ad ban threatened by judicial review.(Animal Defenders International contests the ban under Freedom of speech)(Advertising Standards Authority )

As it stands, the ban may contravene the Convention on Human Rights' protection of free speech, Brinsley Dresden writes.

The ban on political advertising on television in the UK could soon be relaxed if an animal rights charity, Animal Defenders International, is successful in its application for a judicial review. The charity contests that the ban is incompatible with the right to free speech under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The charity brought its case after the BACC refused clearance for its 'my mate's a primate' campaign because it infringed rule four of the Broadcast Committee for Advertising Practice's TV Advertising Standards Code. That rule prohibits commercials by bodies whose objectives are 'wholly or mainly of a political nature', or may be 'directed towards any political end'.

In doing so, the BCAP Code implements the Communications Act 2003, which contains broad definitions of what defines political objectives. This explains why the ban is so problematic - objectives of a 'political nature' include influencing government policy or public opinion on matters of public controversy in the UK.

It is no coincidence that in early September, Ofcom decided that recent television commercials for Make Poverty History infringed rule four. The organisation had persuaded the BACC that although it has some political objectives, its primary function is to raise awareness of global poverty and related issues, thereby getting its commercials on the air in the first place.

The matter was resolved by Ofcom, rather than the Advertising Standards Authority, because the responsibility for enforcing the rules on political advertising remains with the regulator, despite the fact that, for the most part, advertising regulation has been contracted out to the ASA. Good ...