Terminology
Ad-Alert Communication issued by an SRO to alert industry and consumer organisations and public authorities to evidence of unethical or fraudulent activity by an advertiser who cannot be located.
Advertising industry Advertisers, advertising agencies and the media and/or trade associations representing their interests, whether at national, European or global level.
Code (of practice) Set of rules governing the content of advertisements.
Code-making body Part of an SRO, usually composed of industry representatives, responsible for the formulation and revision of the code.
Comparative advertising Advertising which expressly or by clear implication identifies a competitor, his products or services.
Competitor (or competitive) complaint Complaint about an advertisement from a competitor or another advertiser.  Also referred to as an intra-industry complaint.
Complaints committee  Part of an SRO responsible for complaints adjudication.  Sometimes also referred to as a jury.
Consumer complaint Complaint about an advertisement from a member of the public or a consumer organisation.
Consumer redress Process for the resolution of disputes between consumers and traders.
Copy advice

Advice on a proposed advertising campaign provided by a regulatory body, usually on a non-binding basis (see also pre-clearance).
Co-regulation System of regulation combining statutory and self-regulatory elements and sometimes involving other stakeholders, e.g. consumer organisations.

Country of destination

Country to whose consumers an advertisement is addressed.
Country of origin In the context of cross-border complaints, the country in which the media carrying the advertisement (or, in the case of a direct-mail or Internet advertisement, the advertiser) is based.

Cross-border complaint

Complaint by an individual or organisation based in one country about an advertisement circulating in that country, but carried in media based in another.
Denigration  Disparaging reference(s) to competitors or other advertisers (whether identified or not), their products or services.
Extra-judicial Not involving the processes of the legal system or the courts.  Also referred to as 'out-of-court'.
ICC Code(s) Codes of Marketing and Advertising Practice, originally drawn up by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in 1937, which inspired many of the national self-regulatory codes currently in use. 
Information exchange Co-operation between two or more national SROs to resolve a case with transnational aspects.
Jury See complaints committee.

Levy (system)

 Method of funding an SRO, consisting of a small percentage charge on all advertising expenditure.
Media refusal Refusal by media to accept an advertisement, usually at the instigation of an SRO.
Monitoring Examination of advertisements by a regulatory body, on its own initiative, for compliance with codes or legislation.
Mutual recognition  In the context of cross-border cases, acceptance by the national SRO in an advertisement's country of destination (see above) of the jurisdiction of the SRO in the country of origin (see above).
Negotiated code Code agreed between the industry regulated and government.
Out-of-court See extra-judicial.

Pre-clearance

 Examination of an advertisement by a regulatory body as a compulsory precondition of publication or transmission.
Sanction Means of enforcing compliance with the rulings of a regulatory body.
Secretariat Permanent executive staff of an SRO.
Self-regulation Regulation conducted by the industry, profession or sector regulated. 
Self-regulatory code  Code written and put in place by the industry, profession or sector regulated.
Self-regulatory organisation   Body set up and funded by the advertising industry to apply a code or rules regulating advertising content.
Self-regulatory system   System devised by an industry, profession or sector for its own regulation.
SRO   Self-regulatory organisation.
Statutory authority  Governmental or public body responsible for the enforcement of  legislation or codes.
Statutory code   Code having the force of law and/or put in place by legislation or a governmental agency.
Substance (complaint of)   Complaint which shows prima facie evidence of a breach of the code or raises an issue requiring investigation.
Substantiation   Evidence in support of advertising claims.
Tripartite  Body representing the common interests of the three parts of the advertising industry (advertisers, advertising agencies and the media) at either European or national level.