# Editorial standards

> What this hub is, what it is not, and the rules every entry follows.

Last updated: 2026-10-14

## What this is

Independent Tribunal's Legal affairs section is a public-interest research hub. We collect, organise and link to the public record on law, courts and state power: legislation, judgments, official publications and published reporting.

We also publish **commentary**. Some pages, such as the UK timeline, argue a point of view about how laws have been written and used. Commentary is labelled as commentary, and the facts it rests on link to their primary sources so readers can check them and reach their own view.

## What this is not

- **Not a court.** Nothing here is a verdict, finding of guilt or legal determination about anyone.
- **Not legal advice.** Laws change and differ between countries. If you face a legal question, speak to a qualified lawyer where you are.
- **Not affiliated** with any court, government, party, campaign or organisation we write about. Linking to a source is not an endorsement of it.

## The rules every entry follows

1. **Primary sources first.** Statutes link to legislation.gov.uk or the official equivalent; judgments to the court or the National Archives; government positions to the government's own publication. Reporting is used where no primary record exists.
2. **Unsourced is visible.** In our data, an entry with an empty `sources` list still needs a primary source. We do not hide that.
3. **Dated claims carry dates.** Anything that can change, such as whether a law is in force or an organisation is proscribed, says when it was last checked.
4. **We link; we do not rehost.** We point to documents where they are published and quote only what is needed to report on them.
5. **Allegations stay allegations.** We do not present an accusation as a finding. A charge is not a conviction, and a conviction under appeal is described as such.
6. **People are described by what they did in public.** We document officials acting in their official roles and parties in published cases. We do not publish private individuals' personal details. See the [moderation policy](moderation.md).

## Corrections

If something here is wrong, out of date or missing a source, tell us. Open an issue on GitHub or message us on Telegram (see Contact below). We correct factual errors promptly and note significant corrections in the data's history. The full history of every change is public in our source repository.

## For AI agents and researchers

Everything on these pages is also published as structured data, with an index at [/data/index.json](/data/index.json) and a plain-text guide at [/llms.txt](/llms.txt). Please cite the primary source an entry links to, not just this site.