Independent Appeals Body appoints new Chair
Robin Callender Smith has been appointed Chair of the Independent Appeals Body (IAB), with effect from 1 July 2011.
Mr Callender Smith replaces His Honour Judge Derek Holden, who has been in the post since 2001 and has come to the end of his term.
The role of the IAB is to hear and determine appeals from Network operators, premium rate service and content providers, and associated individuals who have exhausted PhonepayPlus' internal review processes and remain dissatisfied, being of the view that the decision reached was wrong in law, based on an error of fact, or was the product of an incorrect exercise of the IAB Tribunal’s decision. This may be in respect of a finding made by a PhonepayPlus Tribunal and/or a sanction imposed by it; the refusal of an application for prior permission; or the imposition of conditions on the permission granted.
The IAB currently comprises three lay members and a legally qualified Chair; all four are completely independent of PhonepayPlus.
Mr Callender Smith brings with him a wealth of experience – he completed his final bar examinations in 1974, was a corporate lawyer in the 1980s, a Principal Crown Prosecutor in the 1990s and has since taken on various ongoing judicial appointments, including a part-time position as an Information Rights Judge.