[en] EURATOM Basic Safety Standards (BSS) Directives have long included requirements for the involvement of qualified experts, the definition of which has scarcely changed since at least 1976. The Directive requirement, in the definition of qualified expert,, for competent authorities to recognise the capacity to act as a qualified expert has been interpreted by Member States in widely differing ways, ranging from the minimalist or case by case to the highly detailed and prescriptive. In the United Kingdom (UK), the qualified expert for occupational radiation protection is the radiation protection adviser and the competent authority is the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Ionising Radiations Regulations 1985, which largely implemented the 1980 BSS Directive, required an employer to appoint one or more radiation protection advisers for the purpose of advising him as to the observance of these Regulations and other health and safety matters in connection with ionising radiation. The Regulations addressed the question of recognition by forbidding an employer to appoint a person as a radiation protection adviser unless: that person was suitably qualified and experienced; the employer had notified the Health and Safety Executive in writing of the intended appointment at least 28 days in advance, giving the name of the person and particulars of his qualifications and experience and the scope of the advice he would be required to give; and the employer had received from HSE an acknowledgement in writing of the notification. This system allowed HSE to follow up and query any apparently unsuitable potential appointments while applying a light overall administrative touch. The Approved Code of Practice supporting the Regulations included advice on the qualifications, experience and qualities that the employer should look for in a suitable radiation protection adviser