Draft corrections and versioning policy
Consultation on the policy governing how the Institute corrects a published document and how versions are numbered, retained and linked. The draft retains every superseded version at a stable address and requires that a correction state what the document…
§1Consultation and window
§1.1Window
- Opened
- 16 July 2024
- Closed
- 13 August 2024
- Duration
- 28 days
- Status
- Closed — the disposition is published
- Document under consultation
- Governance document
- Submissions received
- 19
§1.2Consultation questions
The secretariat put the following questions. A submission was not required to address them and several did not; the questions record what the Institute was uncertain about rather than restricting what a respondent could raise.
- Should a superseded version remain retrievable at its own address, or should it be replaced with a notice?
- Is the threshold between a correction and a new version drawn in the right place?
- Should a correction state the previous wording, or is a description of the change sufficient?
§1.3How a submission is handled
- Every submission is signed. The Institute publishes no anonymous submission.
- Every submission carries a declared interest. A declaration of no interest is itself a declaration and is recorded as one. A declaration is not a disqualification and the Institute has never given a submission less weight on that ground.
- A submission from an employee of a marketing-authorisation holder is identified as an industry submission on its face, following a unanimous consultation on the conflicts policy.
- Every submission receives a secretariat response and a disposition. Submissions that are not accepted remain published in full; the Institute does not remove a submission because it disagrees with it.
- There is no voting, no reputation score, no reply thread and no editing after receipt.
§1.4Outcome
The policy was ratified with amendments. Superseded versions remain retrievable, and a correction states the previous wording in full, which respondents argued was the only form of correction a reader can check.
The disposition table, listing each submission with its disposition and the resulting amendment, is at §3.