How the committee works

The committee meets in person four times a year. Between meetings, editors can consult members by email. Responses are coordinated by the chairman and a decision is made by majority. The chairman will make decisions without consulting other members only in exceptional circumstances

The committee is advisory. The editor can ignore its advice, but must justify her action to the chairman in writing. The advice and the editor?s response would both be published. In the event of a dispute, the committee?s chairman can appeal to the journal committee of the BMA.

How will decisions be reported?

Its annual reports are posted on bmj.com. Any papers discussed by the committee and mentioned in these reports are anonymised first.

Important decisions may also be reported in the print BMJ.