Methodology

The question this site answers

What is this person’s legal position? Precise, current answers about allegations, investigations, charges, judgments, settlements and appeals, with each stage kept distinct and dated.

Sources, in order of preference

1. Court judgments, orders and registers
2. Regulator decisions and enforcement notices
3. Prosecution and police statements
4. Official gazettes
5. Credible reporting, used only to locate and date primary records

Primary records are preferred. Company statements, personal responses and third-party allegations are always labelled as what they are.

Sections and their evidence standards

• Claim register. Each material claim, who made it, when, and its present status. Standard: Original report or filing; no unattributed repetition.
• Legal status. Investigation, charge, order, judgment, settlement, appeal or closure. Standard: Court, regulator or official legal instrument.
• Response. The person’s published response, with date and venue. Standard: Transcript, recording or published statement.
• Current position. One plain sentence stating the present legal position and the date it was last confirmed. Standard: The most recent primary legal record.
• Review. Sources, last-reviewed date, change history and correction route. Standard: Public audit trail.

Identity before claims

Names, aliases, positions and company relationships are resolved against the person’s master record on PublicFigureRecord.org before any claim is assessed. A name match alone is never enough to attach a record to a person.

Dates on every record

Each record shows the date of its most recent source and the date an editor last reviewed it. Sensitive records are re-reviewed on a fixed schedule and whenever a new primary record appears.

Who is covered

Coverage spans a broad range of public figures across sectors and jurisdictions, chosen by published editorial criteria. People are not added or removed because of any commercial relationship or dispute.