Act I of 1996
on Radio and Television Broadcasting
With a view to the freedom of radio and television broadcasting, the freedom of expressing opinions, the independence, balance and objectivity of providing information, the freedom of obtaining information, as well as supporting universal and national culture, and promoting the diversity of opinions and culture, as well as to prevent the development of monopolies in providing information, Parliament has adopted the following Act in accordance with Section 61 of the Constitution:
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Scope
Section 1.
Section 1/A.
(1) This Act shall apply to programming services if the broadcaster has its registered office (residence) in the territory of the Republic of Hungary, and carries out the respective editorial decisions on programming in the territory of the Republic of Hungary.
(2) This Act shall apply to programming services also if:
a) either the registered office (residence) or the place where editorial decisions on programming are adopted by the broadcaster is located in the territory of the Republic of Hungary, while the other is situated in a Member State of the Community or in a State that is a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (hereinafter referred to as “EEA Member State”), and a significant part of the workforce involved in the pursuit of the broadcasting activity operates in the territory of the Republic of Hungary;
b) the registered office (residence) of the broadcaster is in the territory of the Republic of Hungary, however, the place where editorial decisions on programming are is located in an EEA Member State, and a significant part of the workforce involved in the pursuit of the broadcasting activity operates in both countries;
c) either the registered office (residence) or the place where editorial decisions on programming are adopted by the broadcaster is located in the territory of the Republic of Hungary, while the other is situated in an EEA Member State, and in neither country is there a significant part of the workforce involved in the pursuit of the broadcasting activity operating, however, the broadcaster has commenced program broadcasting activities in the territory of the Republic of Hungary and has concrete and solid ties with the Hungarian economy by way of its activities.
(3) This Act shall apply to programming services also if either the registered office (residence) or the place where editorial decisions on programming are adopted by the broadcaster is located in the territory of the Republic of Hungary, while the other is situated in a third country outside the European Economic Area, and a significant part of the workforce involved in the pursuit of the broadcasting activity operates in the territory of the Republic of Hungary.
(4) In the absence of the criteria specified under Subsections (1)-(3), this Act shall apply to programming services also if the broadcaster in question does not fall under the jurisdiction of any EEA Member State, and the broadcaster:
a) uses a frequency assigned by the Hungarian authorities;
b) is not using any frequency assigned by the Hungarian authorities, but is using a satellite capacity appertaining to (leased by) the Government of the Republic of Hungary;
c) is not using any frequency assigned by the Hungarian authorities nor a satellite capacity appertaining to (leased by) the Government of the Republic of Hungary, however, the equipment used for the transmission of his programs, for satellite up-link, is situated in the territory of the Republic of Hungary.
(5) If any program that can be received in the territory of the Republic of Hungary is supplied by a broadcaster who falls under the jurisdiction of an EEA Member State and exhausts the criteria set forth in Section 52/A, the broadcaster shall be subject to the provisions contained therein.
(6) Furthermore, this Act shall apply to broadcast retransmissions in Hungary and program broadcasting that is carried out by using equipment situated in the territory of the Republic of Hungary.
Section 1/B.
This Act shall also apply to programming services that falls under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Hungary under the European Convention on Transfrontier Television signed in Strasbourg on 5 May 1989 and promulgated by Act XLIX of 1998, and under the Protocol amending it.
Interpretative Provisions
Section 2.
For the purposes of this Act:
1) 'Total transmission time (air time)' shall mean the aggregate duration of the transmission time plus the time allocated for the transmission of information, other than programs. Information not qualifying as a program is the measuring signal, the monoscope, the broadcast signal, the interval signal, time display, any communication by the announcer not related to the program, and a pause/interruption in the broadcast due to technical reasons.
2) 'Basic service' shall mean the broadcast transfer service rendered in the broadcast transfer system to the subscribers for the lowest fee.
3) 'Controlling share' shall mean:
a) a direct and indirect share in a company, the total of which provides control in excess of twenty-five percent of the company's assets or voting rights; the direct and indirect ownership shares of close relatives [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] shall be applied concurrently;
b) any situation which makes a controlling influence in the company possible on the basis of a contract, the deed of foundation (charter) or preference shares, through the appointment (removal) of the decision-making or supervisory bodies, or in any other way.
4) 'Surreptitious advertising' shall mean any program or representation in words or pictures of goods or services within a program, when such representation purports to be unbiased, intended to advocate the purchase of such goods or services, or to solicit any other business conduct.
5) 'Value added service' shall mean the dissemination of programs and services not related to broadcasting.
6) 'Cinematographic works' shall mean feature films, films made for television, television plays, television feature film series, documentaries, popular scientific films and animation films.
7) 'Prime time' shall mean on radio the period between 6:30 and 9:30 hours, and on television the period between 18:30 and 21:30 hours.
8) 'Networking' shall mean the interconnection of two or more broadcasters or program services for the simultaneous or virtually simultaneous broadcasting of the same program or broadcast.
9) 'Network operator' shall mean any broadcaster whose broadcast or program is disseminated in a network, and who is responsible for the broadcasting.
10) 'Local broadcasting' shall mean where broadcasting is intended for local audiences, covering an area or a city whose population is, respectively, less than one hundred thousand or five hundred thousand on an annual average.
11) 'Charity appeal' shall mean a program or part of a program disseminated in a broadcast without any consideration in cash or other consideration of an economic nature which requests the provision of assistance in the interest of a natural person, a group of natural persons, or civil organizations, foundations, etc. established to support them.
12) 'On-screen information' shall mean any screen text, still image, or computer graphics displayed before the beginning or after the end of the air time or of the daily television programs, or between programs, which is not part of the program.
13) 'Ancillary information' shall mean extra information transmitted simultaneously with radio or television broadcasting, with the aid of a complementary technical means, through the same broadcast transfer or broadcast diffusion channel, which is closely related to broadcasting.
14) 'Conventional advertising' shall mean all commercial messages, other than teleshopping and teleshopping windows.
15) 'Regional broadcasting' shall mean broadcasting covering an area that is larger than the area covered by local broadcasting, but in which area less than half of the country's population lives.
16) 'Public service announcement' shall mean:
a) any announcement made on behalf of and with the contents determined by an organization or a natural person fulfilling State or local, regional governmental responsibilities, which serves to attract the attention of the general public;
b) a program broadcast for the promotion of non-political objectives which calls for the support of a cause serving the interests of the public, promotes an event or object of this nature, and draws attention to circumstances jeopardizing the realization of such an objective.
17) 'Public broadcaster' shall mean a broadcaster that, based upon its own broadcasting rules approved by the National Radio and Television Board, broadcasts public service programs in the majority of its broadcasting time.
18) 'Public service broadcast' shall mean a broadcast in which public service programs play a decisive role, and that regularly informs the listeners and viewers living in the area covered by the broadcaster of issues that may be of interest to the public.
19) 'Public service program' shall mean a program serving the informational, cultural, civic and lifestyle needs of the audiences living in the area (national, regional, local) covered by the broadcaster, such as in particular:
a) artistic works or communication presenting universal and Hungarian culture and the culture of the national and ethnic minorities living in Hungary, the life of the national and ethnic minorities living in Hungary, and the viewpoints of minorities;
b) dissemination of information serving educational and training purposes;
c) providing information on scientific activities and research results;
d) broadcasts serving the concept of the freedom of religion, and presenting church and religious activities;
e) children and youth programs, and educational and general information programs on child protection;
f) dissemination of information making everyday life easier, serving to provide information to the general public concerning legal matters and public affairs, and promoting healthy lifestyles, the protection of the environment, the protection and conservation of nature, public security and the safety of traffic;
g) programs created for underprivileged groups who are at a grave disadvantage due to their age, physical, mental or psychological state or social circumstances;
h) news services.
20) 'Public service broadcaster' shall mean a broadcaster governed by the provisions relevant to public service broadcasting whose main responsibility is to broadcast public service programs, that is financed primarily from public funds and supervised by social bodies, and whose basic rights and obligations are laid down in this Act.
21) 'Indirect control' shall mean when shares in the capital or the voting rights of a company are controlled through the shares or voting rights held by another company in that company (hereinafter referred to as ‘intermediary company'). If there is any proportional difference between the ownership share and the voting rights, the greater one shall apply. The extent of indirect control shall be determined by multiplying the share or voting right held in the intermediary company by the share or voting right held by the intermediary company in the original company. If the share or voting right in the intermediary company is higher than fifty per cent, it shall be treated as a whole. In the case of natural persons, the ownership shares and voting rights held or exercised by close relatives [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] shall be applied concurrently.
22) 'Teleshopping' shall mean direct offers broadcast to the public for the sale, purchase or rental of goods (including immovable property), rights and obligations, or for the provision of services in return for payment, by way of establishing direct contact with the commercial distributor or service provider.
22/A.) 'Teleshopping window' shall mean a spot of a minimum uninterrupted duration of at least fifteen minutes broadcast by a television channel that is not exclusively devoted to teleshopping. Unless otherwise defined in this Act, teleshopping shall also mean to be understood as a teleshopping window.
23) 'Transfrontier transmission of program services' shall mean broadcasting by means other than satellite that is addressed, based upon the characteristics of the broadcasting facilities used for dissemination, to audiences predominantly beyond the borders of the Republic of Hungary, or satellite broadcasting from Hungary addressed only to international audiences.
24)
24/A.) 'Hungarian broadcast retransmission services' shall mean the services provided through equipment installed in the territory of the Republic of Hungary.
25) 'Broadcast' shall mean a series of radio or television programs edited and disseminated to the general public.
26) 'Broadcast transmission system' shall mean a transmission system defined in specific other legislation, that is capable to transmit at least five different programs at the same time.
27) 'Transmission time' shall mean the total time of the programs transmitted, during a specific period, in the broadcast.
28) 'Program' shall mean sound or image, or the combination thereof forming a closed unit or edited into a closed unit from individual parts, which is distinguished by a main title individually designating the whole of the combination, and if necessary, by further distinctive signs, and by some type of communication indicating that it is coming to an end.
28/A.) 'Preview' shall mean any broadcast for the purpose of promoting or drawing attention to a future program or programs of the broadcaster.
29)
30) 'Program broadcasting service' shall mean the production of radio or television programs by a broadcaster intended for reception by the general public.
31) 'Broadcaster' shall mean the natural or legal person, or business association lacking the legal status of a legal person who has editorial responsibility for the composition of the schedules of programs, has editorial influence over the content of programs, and who transmits them or has them transmitted by a third party to the general public.
32) 'Transmission' shall mean broadcast transmission using analogue technology in accordance with specific other legislation.
33)
34) 'Non-profit broadcasting company' shall mean a broadcaster who/which agrees to serve national, ethnic or other minority goals, cultural aims or an underprivileged group, or intends to serve as the public forum of a community, provided it uses the financial profit generated by the broadcasting, as recorded separately, solely for the purposes of providing broadcasting services, including improvements.
35) 'National bodies of interest representation and trade organizations' shall mean bodies of interest representation and trade organizations governed by Act II of 1989 on the Freedom of Association, whose nation-wide operation is fixed in their charters.
36) 'National broadcasting' shall mean the broadcasting of programs covering an area of at least fifty percent of the country's population.
37) 'Newspaper of nation-wide circulation' shall mean any daily newspaper that is sold in at least one thousand copies in each of at least ten counties daily, or forty thousand copies in Budapest, and any weekly paper that is sold in at least five hundred copies in each of at least ten counties weekly, or three thousand copies in Budapest.
38) 'Composite program' shall mean a combination of several programs bearing a single main title.
39) 'Political advertisement' shall mean a program which:
a) calls upon, influences (the audience) to support the participation and success of a party or political movement, or its candidate, in the elections, or initiating a referendum;
b) promotes the name, activity, objectives, slogan, emblem and the image formed of a party or political movement.
40) 'Advertising using subliminal techniques' shall mean advertising, in the transmission of which a stimulus generated by a sound effect or light effect of lower strength than the stimulus threshold necessary for conscious perception in the psychological sense has an effect on the viewer or listener of the program, this being a consequence of the brief duration of the transmission, or for another reason.
41) 'Advertising' shall mean any form of public announcement in return for payment or for similar consideration in order to promote the sale, purchase or rental of specific products (including immovable property), rights and obligations announced or displayed, or to promote the achievement of other goals intended by the advertiser or the broadcaster. Any spots allocated for self-promotion shall also be treated as advertising, apart from the preview defined under Point 28/A.
42) 'Program of own production' shall mean a program, the majority of which has been made by:
a) a natural person under contract with the broadcaster; or
b) a natural person residing in Hungary, or a legal person or business association lacking the legal status of a legal person established in Hungary, where production is financed by the broadcaster in exchange for all rights, as defined by law, attached to the program produced.
43) 'Specialized broadcasting' shall mean broadcasting where at least eighty percent of the daily transmission time is made up of the same type of programs as undertaken by the broadcaster in a public tender or notice.
44) 'Sponsorship' shall mean any financial contribution or any other form of contribution of a business nature made to a broadcaster by a natural or legal person or business association lacking the legal status of a legal person, who is not engaged in broadcasting activities or in the production of audio-visual works, to the direct or indirect financing of a program with a view to promoting the name, the trade mark or other distinguishing mark, the image, the activities or the products of the sponsor or another person designated by the sponsor.
45) 'Company' shall mean legal persons and business associations lacking the legal status of a legal person, and the activities and ownership status of natural persons as defined by this Act, irrespective of where they are established.
46) 'Cable operator' shall mean an operator who provides program services through a closed circuit telecommunications network.
47) 'Area of reception' shall mean:
a) in the case of broadcasting performed through the broadcast diffusion system, the geographically identifiable territory in which the level of the effective signals of the program transmission service within the framework of broadcasting and the calculated level of interference protection, reach the minimum values stipulated in the recommendations of the International Telecommunications Union;
b) in the case of broadcasting carried out through a wired broadcast transfer system (cable network), the inhabited territory in which the cable network was developed and in which the population of the territory has the possibility of establishing connection to the main cable of the network in the inhabited territory in question, for a standard fee;
c) in the case of broadcasting carried out through a radio telecommunications broadcasting transfer system, the geographically identifiable territory in which the level of the effective signals of the program transmission service within the framework of broadcasting and the calculated level of interference protection reach the minimum values declared necessary for reception at an acceptable level of quality, in accordance with the broadcast transmission contract;
d) in the case of network broadcast transmission systems, all of the areas of reception of the individual systems.
48) 'Music program' shall mean a program edited from musical works under copyright protection.
49) 'European works' shall mean:
a) any audio-visual works originating from any Member State of the Community or from another European third country that is a party to the European Convention on Transfrontier Television signed in Strasbourg on 5 May 1989, if the majority of the authors and other persons who have participated in its creation are established in one of the aforementioned States, provided that they comply with one of the following conditions:
- they are made by one or more producers established in one or more of those States; or
- production of the works is supervised and actually controlled by one or more producers established in one or more of those States; or
- the contribution of co-producers of those States to the total co-production costs is preponderant and the co-production is not controlled by one or more producers established outside those States;
b) an audio-visual work originating from a country other than those referred to in Paragraph a) made by a single producer or in co-production with a producer established in one or more Member States of the Community, if the European country where the producer is established has an agreement with the European Communities concerning audio-visual works, and if those works are mainly made with authors and workers residing in one or more European States;
c) the audio-visual works referred to in Paragraphs a) and b), that originate from a non-Member State of the Community shall be considered to be European works if works originating from any Member State of the Community are not discriminated against;
d) any audio-visual works which are not recognized as European works under Paragraph a) or b), which are, however, produced under a bilateral co-production agreement made between any Member State of the Community and a non-member State shall be considered to be European works if the contribution of co-producers of those States to the total co-production costs is preponderant, and if production is not controlled by a producer who is established in a country other than a Member State of the Community;
e) any audio-visual works which are not recognized as European works under Paragraph a), b) or d), which are, however, made by authors and other persons participating in its creation established in a Member State of the Community shall be considered to be European works to an extent corresponding to the proportion of the contribution of Community co-producers to the total production costs.
50) 'Majority of local audiences' shall mean ten per cent of Hungary's population.
51) 'Major broadcaster' shall mean a broadcaster operating on a ground-base frequency, broadcasting unencoded programs in the Hungarian language that is available for reception to at least ninety per cent of the population of Hungary.
52) 'Major foreign broadcaster' shall mean a broadcaster recognized as such by the State where established.
CHAPTER II
PRINCIPLES AND RULES OF BROADCASTING
PART A)
GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND RULES
Title 1
Basic Principles
Section 3.
(1) Broadcasting in the Republic of Hungary may be exercised freely within the framework of this Act, information and opinions may be transmitted through channels of broadcasting, and Hungarian and foreign programs intended for reception by the general public may be received freely. Broadcasters shall define the contents of their programs under editorial independence, within the scope of this Act, for which they shall bear full responsibility.
(2) Broadcasters shall operate with respect to the constitutional order of the Republic of Hungary, their activities may not violate human rights and may not contain facilities for inciting hatred against individuals, sexes, peoples, nations, national, ethnic, linguistic and other minorities, and church or religious groups.
(3) Broadcasting may not be aimed, openly or surreptitiously, at insulting or for the disassociation of any minority or majority group of society, or to depict any view of them, discriminating or otherwise, on the basis of racial considerations.
Section 4.
(1) The information provided on domestic and foreign events which may be of interest for the general public, and on issues of dispute shall be diverse, factual, current, objective and balanced.
(2) The entirety of the programs transmitted, or any program group distinguished by content or genre may not serve the interests of any political party or movement and may not disseminate the views of such parties and movements.
(3) The regular staff of a broadcaster participating in the broadcaster's political and news programs as a host, anchorman, newscaster or correspondent may not give any opinion or relay their personal views or evaluation, other than news commentary, to the political news regardless of the type of contract under which they are employed.
(4) Any opinion or evaluation relayed in connection with the news communicated shall be clearly identified as such with the name of the author specified, and shall be distinguished from the news.
Section 4/A.
A broadcaster may not broadcast a copyrighted cinematographic work at times other than what is defined in an agreement with the proprietor of the copyright and neighboring rights.
Section 5.
(1) Prior to broadcasting any image or sound effects that has the capacity to infringe upon religious convictions or beliefs or to disturb public order in a violent or other manner, the audience must be given a fair warning beforehand.
(2) Programs intended for the purpose of religious or ideological education or suitable for that purpose may be broadcast by indicating this capacity in advance.
(3)-(5)
Title 1/A
Protection of Minors
Section 5/A.
(1) Broadcasters shall assign a rating to each and every program they wish to broadcast - other than previews, news programs, current affairs programs, sport events and advertisements - according to the categories specified under Section 5/B.
(2) A preview may not be broadcast at a time of the day when the program to which it pertains cannot be broadcast.
(3) Current affairs programs, sports events and advertisements cannot be broadcast at a time of the day when, according to the ratings of similar programs, they could not have been broadcast had they been rated according to their content.
Section 5/B.
(1) Category I shall include the programs which are rated to be viewed by all audiences.
(2) Category II shall include the programs that may frighten viewers under twelve years of age, or that they cannot comprehend or may misunderstand due to their age. These programs shall be classified as "Parental discretion is advised for viewers under the age of twelve".
(3) Category III shall include the programs which might impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors under the age of sixteen, in particular those that involve gratuitous violence or sexual content, or that are dominated by conflict situations resolved by violence. These programs shall be classified as "Not recommended for viewing for audiences under the age of sixteen".
(4) Category IV shall include the programs which might impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors, in particular those that are dominated by graphic scenes of violence and/or sexual content. These programs shall be classified as "Not recommended for viewing for audiences under the age of eighteen".
(5) Category V shall include the programs which might seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of minors, in particular those that involve pornography or extreme or explicit scenes of violence.
Section 5/C.
(1) Programs classified under Category II cannot be broadcast targeted to viewers under twelve years of age, or among such programs; they can be broadcast at any other time having the proper classification affixed.
(2) Programs classified under Category III can be broadcast between 21.00 p.m. and 05.00 a.m., having the proper classification affixed.
(3) Programs classified under Category IV can be broadcast between 22.00 p.m. and 05.00 a.m., having the proper classification affixed.
(4) Programs classified under Category V cannot be broadcast.
Section 5/D.
(1) Subject to the exceptions laid down in this Act, all programs must be broadcast in accordance with their classification.
(2) At the beginning of the broadcast the rating and classification of the program must be displayed.
(3) During broadcasting the proper distinguishing symbol of the rating of the program must be displayed in either corner of the screen throughout the entire duration of the broadcast. The rating of programs classified under Category I need not be displayed. No distinguishing symbol needs to be applied for radio broadcasts.
Section 5/E.
Program guides containing the programs of television broadcasters shall indicate the rating of each program according to the classification defined under Section 5/B.
Section 5/F.
The National Radio and Television Board shall determine the guidelines for the rating system specified in Section 5/B, the symbols to be applied prior to and during broadcast and the manner in which they are to be displayed by resolution passed by a two-thirds majority - in keeping with the prescribed procedure -, and shall publish them in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs.
Title 2
Broadcast Requirements Concerning Program Structure
Section 6.
Section 7.
(1) Television broadcasters shall devote over half of their annual transmission time for European works and over one-third of their transmission time for works that were originally made in the Hungarian language.
(2) Television broadcasters shall reserve at least ten per cent of their annual transmission time for European works and at least seven per cent of their transmission time for works originally made in the Hungarian language that were created by producers who are independent of broadcasters or that were purchased from such producers within five years of their production.
(3) The percentages specified in Subsections (1) and (2), having regard to broadcasters' informational, educational, cultural and entertainment responsibilities to its viewing public, should be achieved - if necessary - progressively. It shall be incumbent on any broadcaster who fails to achieve the ratios specified in Subsections (1) and (2) to provide evidence that such practice is legitimate under the provisions of this Subsection.
(4) Television broadcasters shall reserve at least twelve per cent of their programming budget for cinematographic works created by producers who are independent of broadcasters or that were purchased from such producers within five years of their production. These programs, with the exception of cinematographic works, shall have been originally made in the Hungarian language.
(5) For the purposes of this Section:
a) 'broadcaster' shall mean any broadcaster providing national and regional broadcasting services, as well as the broadcaster providing national broadcasting services as a result of a network connection;
b) transmission time appointed to news broadcasts, sports events, games, advertising and on-screen information services shall be excluded from the overall transmission time;
c) 'programming budget' shall mean the costs that are claimed as expenses according to the principles of profit and loss accounting for persons required to prepare annual reports and simplified annual reports under the Accounting Act;
d) 'independent producer' shall mean an enterprise in which the broadcaster has no ownership share, direct or indirect, or with which any director or executive employee of the broadcaster, or their close relative as specified in Paragraph b) of Section 685 of the Civil Code, has any employment or ownership relationship;
e) 'works and programs originally made in the Hungarian language' shall mean any work:
ea) that was originally made entirely in the Hungarian language;
eb) that was originally made in two languages, and more than half of it's length was originally made in Hungarian;
ec) that was originally made in three languages, and the part that was originally made in Hungarian is longer than any of the parts of the other two languages;
ed) that was originally made in the language of a Hungarian ethnic minority, and if it addresses themes about the life and culture of that minority;
ee) that is a musical program performed in the Hungarian language, or in the language of any Hungarian ethnic minority and if it addresses the culture of that minority;
ef) that is an instrumental musical program, that is part of the Hungarian cultural heritage, or the cultural heritage of a Hungarian ethnic minority.
Section 8.
(1) National and regional broadcasters, other than specialized broadcasters, shall broadcast public service programs in not less than ten percent of their daily transmission time.
(2) Public service programs shall be broadcast during prime time hours for not less than twenty-five minutes. If the broadcaster does not transmit during prime time, it shall broadcast public service programs between 7:00 and 18:30 hours for not less than twenty-five minutes.
(3) National television channels and national radio channels shall broadcast not less than twenty minutes and not less than fifteen minutes, respectively, independent and uninterrupted news broadcasts during prime time hours. News material received from other Hungarian broadcasters may not exceed twenty percent of the news broadcast.
(4) National television channels broadcasting by way of terrestrial transmitter may not operate as specialized broadcasters.
Section 8/A.
(1) The public service and national television broadcaster - with the exception of specialized broadcasters - shall ensure that in the course of its broadcasting service:
a) all announcements and - unless otherwise implied by the nature of the program - newscasts of public interest;
b) motion pictures and public service programs defined in Subparagraph e) of Point 19 of Section 2 and produced for persons with disabilities are made available with Hungarian subtitles or sign language interpreting:
ba) for at least two hours in 2010,
bb) for at least four hours in 2011,
bc) for at least six hours in 2012,
bd) for at least eight hours in 2013,
be) for at least ten hours in 2014,
bf) entirely as from 2015
on a given calendar day.
(2) Any programs started by the broadcaster with subtitles or sign language interpreting between 6:00 hours and 24:00 hours shall be continued to be broadcast - for the entire duration of the program, without prejudice as to its integrity - with subtitles and/or sign language interpreting.
Title 3
Broadcasting Public Events
Section 9.
(1) If a broadcaster transmits to the audience an event that was intended for the general public under exclusive broadcasting rights, the broadcast or news broadcast of another broadcaster may cover a part of the event, simultaneously with or following the transmission in accordance with its needs, to the extent not to exceed the copyright limitations on free use of works in radio and television channels as defined in the Act on Copyright.
(2) The broadcasting of a part of an event shall be considered to satisfy the needs of the broadcast or news broadcast if it does not exceed ten percent of the duration of the transmission (program) concerned, or fifty seconds at the most.
Section 9/A.
(1) Exclusive television broadcasting rights concerning events which are regarded as being of major importance for society may not be exercised in such a way as to deprive a substantial proportion of the domestic population of the possibility of following such events.
(2) The Government, in agreement with the National Radio and Television Board, shall draw up a list of designated events, which it considers to be of major importance for society, and the manner of broadcast to permit unrestricted access by the public via whole or partial live coverage or whole or partial deferred coverage.
(3) When there is any change in the list of designated events of major importance for society, the revised list of events shall apply only to the exclusive television broadcasting rights obtained after the promulgation of the government decree containing such events.
(4) Any event shall be assigned the designation defined in Subsection (2) if it is likely to interest a substantial proportion of the domestic population.
(5) In order to determine the designation of events as specified in Subsection (2), the National Radio and Television Board may hold public hearings subject to the provisions of Sections 93 and 94.
Section 9/B.
(1) Subsequent to the operative date of the act promulgating the treaty on Hungary's accession to the European Union, exclusive television broadcasting rights must be exercised in conformity with the provisions concerning the broadcasting of designated events considered by Member States of the European Union to be of major importance for society.
(2) Exclusive television broadcasting rights obtained subsequent to the operative date of the act promulgating the Protocol on the amendment of the European Convention on Transfrontier Television signed in Strasbourg on 5 May 1989, promulgated by Act XLIX of 1998, must be exercised in conformity with the provisions concerning the broadcasting of designated events considered to be of major importance for society by the States which are party to the Protocol.
Section 9/C.
(1) Any broadcaster who has acquired exclusive rights for the television broadcasting of an event falling under Subsection (2) of Section 9/A shall be required to make a contract proposal - subject to reasonable terms and conditions in exchange for appropriate consideration - to a major television broadcaster (hereinafter referred to as ‘prospective contractor') when approached by such a broadcaster concerning the broadcast of the said event.
(2) Any broadcaster who has acquired exclusive rights for the television broadcasting of an event that has been designated in accordance with the applicable international regulations as being of major importance for society by any State being a party to the Protocol on the amendment of the European Convention on Transfrontier Television signed in Strasbourg on 5 May 1989, promulgated by Act XLIX of 1998, shall be required to make a contract proposal - subject to reasonable terms and conditions in exchange for appropriate consideration - to a major foreign television broadcaster, when approached by such a broadcaster concerning the broadcast of the said event, who falls within the jurisdiction of that State.
(3) Any broadcaster who has acquired exclusive rights for the television broadcasting of an event that has been designated in accordance with the applicable international regulations as being of major importance for society by a Member State of the European Union, shall be required to make a contract proposal - subject to reasonable terms and conditions in exchange for appropriate consideration - to a major foreign television broadcaster, when approached by such a broadcaster concerning the broadcast of the said event, who falls within the jurisdiction of that Member State.
(4) The terms and conditions of the contracts defined under Subsections (1)-(3) shall be fixed in detail by the parties concerned.
(5) In the cases specified under Subsections (1)-(3) the parties concerned shall be subject to contracting obligation. In the event of the parties' failure to reach an agreement, the contract may be conceived by court order upon request by the prospective contractor subject to the terms and conditions stipulated by the court. Such court proceedings shall be conducted under expedited procedure.
Title 4
Restrictions and Prohibitions on Advertising
Section 10.
(1) Under this Act, broadcasters shall not be held liable for the facts stated in an advertisement, other than deliberate misrepresentation.
(2) Questions of conscience and ideological convictions may not be disseminated through advertising in broadcasting.
(3) No advertising may be broadcast directly before and directly after the broadcasting of programs prepared in respect of the events of national holidays, religious and church services and ceremonies.
(4) The employees and external staff of broadcasters regularly appearing in news broadcasts and political programs communicating current issues may not appear in any commercial or political advertisement, either visually or in sound.
(5) Advertising shall not use subliminal techniques and surreptitious advertising shall be prohibited.
(6) All messages conveyed in advertisements must be true and accurate and fair.
(7) No advertisement may be published if it is offensive to religious or political beliefs.
(8) Advertisements shall not encourage behavior prejudicial to health, to safety or to the protection of the environment.
Section 11.
(1) During elections, political advertising may be broadcast in accordance with the provisions of the acts on the election of Members of Parliament, the representatives of local and regional governments and mayors, and the election of minority local governments. Outside election campaigns, political advertising may be broadcast exclusively in connection with an impending referendum.
(2) Political advertisement may not be inserted in transfrontier program services.
Section 12.
(1) Any person on whose behalf an advertisement, a public service announcement, charity appeal and political advertising is broadcast, or any other person who has an interest in the broadcasting thereof, shall not exercise editorial influence concerning the contents of other programs.
(2) Under this Act, broadcasters shall not be held liable for the contents of public service announcements, charity appeals and political advertisements.
Section 13.
(1) Advertisements promoting and describing tobacco products, weapons, ammunition, explosives, prescription medicines and the popularizing of therapeutic procedures shall be prohibited.
(2) Advertisements of alcoholic beverages:
a) may not be addressed to minors and cannot show minors consuming alcohol;
b) may not encourage abusive consumption of alcohol, may not show the abusive consumption of alcohol in a positive light, and may not show abstention from the consumption of alcohol in a negative light;
c) shall not convey an impression that with the consumption of beverages with low alcohol content alcoholism can be avoided, nor shall it place emphasis on high alcoholic content as being a positive quality of the beverages;
d) shall not claim that alcohol has therapeutic qualities or that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is a stimulant or a sedative, or that alcoholic beverages are a means of resolving personal conflicts;
e) shall not be broadcast during prime time hours, with the exception of low alcohol-content beverages;
f) shall not be broadcast directly before and directly after programs made for minors;
g) shall not link the consumption of alcohol to enhanced physical performance or to driving;
h) shall not create the impression that the consumption of alcohol contributes towards social or sexual success.
Section 14.
(1) Advertisement shall not convey an outright suggestion to minors to pursuade their parents or any other adults to buy or use toys and any other goods or services.
(2) Advertising shall not be misleading in respect of the actual nature and possibilities of a toy.
(3) Advertisements shall not show minors in violent situations and shall not encourage violence.
(4) Advertisements shall not exploit the special trust minors place in parents, teachers or other persons, nor shall they exploit their inexperience or credulity.
(5) Teleshopping shall not exhort minors to contract for the purchase (buying or rental) of goods and services.
Section 15.
(1) Advertising, public service announcements, charity appeals and political advertising shall be broadcast:
a) describing it as such directly before and after transmission; and
b) readily recognizable as such and kept distinctly separate from other programs by optical and/or acoustic means, and by acoustic means in the case of radio.
(2) When broadcasting public service announcements and charity appeals the source thereof shall be distinctly identified. The broadcaster may not charge any consideration for the broadcasting of public service announcements referred to in Paragraph a) of Point 16 of Section 2.
(3) The duration of public service announcements may not exceed two minutes, with the exception of the public service announcements specified in Section 137.
Section 16.
(1) The proportion of transmission time devoted to conventional advertising shall not exceed fifteen percent of the daily transmission time. The advertising time may reach twenty percent if it includes the spots allocated for teleshopping without the transmission time devoted to teleshopping windows.
(2) Within a given clock hour of transmission time, calculated in any way or form, the time devoted to conventional advertising may not exceed twelve minutes, not including the transmission time devoted to teleshopping windows.
(3) The maximum number of teleshopping windows per day shall be eight and their overall duration shall not exceed two hours per day.
(4) The provisions of Subsections (2) and (3) shall not apply to television channels exclusively devoted to teleshopping. For these channels the time to be allotted to conventional advertising within the daily transmission time shall be governed by Subsection (1).
(5) Non-profit oriented broadcasters may broadcast three minutes of advertising in an hour.
(6) The provisions contained in Subsections (1)-(3) shall not apply to on-screen information services if their reception area does not extend beyond the reception area of local broadcasting.
(7) National and regional television broadcasters, with the exception of broadcasters specializing in programs other than cinematographic works, shall appropriate six percent of their advertising revenues for the creation of new Hungarian motion pictures. At least half of this shall be feature films, documentaries, popular scientific films and animation films, and thirty percent shall be works that are made by others. This obligation may be satisfied by financial contributions made to public foundations or state funds subsidizing the local film industry, without any restrictions other than the right of showing. For the application of this obligation the amount paid shall be taken into account by a factor of two.
Section 17.
(1) Advertising shall be inserted between programs.
(2) In accordance with the conditions defined in Subsections (3)-(6) advertising may also be inserted during programs in such a way that the integrity and value of the program, taking into account natural breaks in and the duration and nature of, the program, and the rights and the lawful interests of the holders of copyright and neighboring rights are not prejudiced.
(3) In programs consisting of autonomous parts, or in sports programs and similarly structured events and performances comprising intervals, advertising shall only be inserted between the parts or in the intervals.
(4) The following programs may not be interrupted or reduced by advertising:
a) news programs and current affairs programs when their programmed duration is less than thirty minutes;
b) programs intended for minors under the age of fourteen, when their programmed duration is less than thirty minutes;
c) reports on the events of national holidays; or
d) religious programs;
e) documentaries when their programmed duration is less than thirty minutes.
(5) Any advertising spots or series inserted within a program must be at least twenty minutes apart.
(6) The transmission of cinematographic works (excluding series, serials, light entertainment programs and documentaries), provided their programmed duration is more than 45 minutes, may be interrupted by advertising once for each complete period of 45 minutes. A further advertising interruption is allowed if their programmed duration is at least 20 minutes longer than two or more complete periods of 45 minutes.
Title 5
Sponsored Programs
Section 18.
(1) The sponsor of the program shall be identified immediately before or after broadcasting.
(2) Sponsored programs must not encourage or advocate the acquisition (purchase or rental) of the products or services of the sponsor or those of a third party designated by the sponsor, nor shall they discourage the acquisition (purchase or rental) of such products or services.
(3) The content and scheduling of sponsored programs may not be influenced by the sponsor in such a way as to affect the responsibility and editorial independence of the broadcaster in respect of programs.
(4) Programs in which the trade mark, distinctive logo or slogan of the sponsor of the programs appear, other than program previews, are prohibited from being broadcasted.
(5) News and current affairs programs may not be sponsored.
(6) This Section, with the exception of Subsection (5), shall not apply to broadcasting specializing exclusively in the ordering of goods or services.
Section 19.
(1) The following may not sponsor programs:
a) political parties and political movements;
b) companies whose main activity is the manufacture or wholesale of products which cannot be advertised in accordance with this Act, or providing services in connection with such products. This prohibition shall not apply to sponsorship requiring the communication of the name and trademark of a company involved in connection with pharmaceutical products and therapeutic processes.
(2) The name, slogan or emblem of a party may not appear in any reference to the name of the sponsor (name indicated).
Title 6
Ancillary Information and Value Added Services
Section 20.
(1) Authorization shall not be granted for the provisions of ancillary information as an exclusive activity.
(2) Only authorized broadcasters shall be authorized to engage in the provision of ancillary information.
(3) The application for the provision of ancillary information shall be incorporated in the application for broadcasting or shall be submitted subsequently.
Section 21.
(1) Broadcasters are primarily entitled to provide value-added services.
(2) If, within one hundred and eighty days of the commencement of exercising broadcasting rights, the broadcaster does not commence the use of any potential value-added service, other than a satellite system, the program distributor may submit a claim therefor.
(3) A notice for the claim referred to in Subsection (2) may be lodged within one hundred and eighty days of the date of availability to the National Radio and Television Board (hereinafter referred to as "Board") and to the broadcaster. Following this deadline, entitlement to the value added service shall be granted to the broadcaster or the program distributor, whichever of the two submits a claim first to the Board. If neither the broadcaster nor the program distributor wishes to provide value-added services, a third party may conclude a contract in respect thereof with the broadcaster and the distributor.
(4) Provision of the value-added service shall commence within sixty days of the notice and shall be provided continuously in accordance with the contents of the notice.
(5) The right for providing value-added services shall terminate together with the right of broadcasting.
PART B)
BASIC PRINCIPLES AND REGULATIONS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING AND FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Title 1
General Provisions
Section 22.
(1) Public service broadcasting may be performed by the broadcasters defined in this Act.
(2) Upon request, the Board may authorize a broadcaster to transmit public programming if it undertakes the obligations pertaining to the transmission of public programming.
(3) The Board's approval of a broadcaster's terms of broadcasting shall constitute its authorization to engage in the transmission of public programming. The Board shall publish the terms of broadcasting in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs.
(4) Public service broadcasters and broadcasters engaged in the transmission of public programming shall be exempt from the obligation to pay a broadcasting fee.
Title 2
Common Provisions Applicable to the Broadcasts of Public Service Broadcasters and Broadcasters Engaged in the Transmission of Public Programming
Section 23.
(1) Public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming are, in particular, obliged to respect the dignity and fundamental rights of the nation, the national, ethnic, linguistic rights and other minorities, and may not offend the dignity of other nations.
(2) Public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming shall provide information on domestic and foreign events which may be of interest for the general public, events significantly affecting the lives of those living in the reception area, connections, disputed matters, the representative opinions formed of the events, including different opinions, on a regular basis, in a comprehensive, impartial, authentic and precise manner. In connection with these responsibilities, they shall provide for the broadcasting of public announcements not mentioned in Section 137.
(3) Public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming shall provide for the presentation of the diversity of programs and views and the viewpoints of minorities, and shall, through the variety of programs, provide for satisfying the needs of a wide range of audiences, and as many groups as possible, at a high standard.
(4) Public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming shall pay special attention to:
a) fostering the values of the universal and national cultural heritage, endorsing the diversity of culture;
b) showing programs serving the physical, psychological and moral development and interest of minors, and to enhance their knowledge;
c) presenting the values of religious, national, ethnic and other minority cultures;
d) providing important information to groups that are severely disadvantaged due to age, mental and psychological state or social circumstances, in particular broadcasting programs on children's rights, on child protection and on conveying information regarding available services in prime time programming;
e) showing programs presenting the social, economic and cultural life of the various parts of the country.
Section 24.
(1) In the case of public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming, the duration of advertising may not exceed six minutes in any given clock hour, calculated in any way. The duration of advertising may not exceed five minutes per hour calculated in the average of the daily transmission time.
(2) The transmission of on-screen information services containing advertising, other than the on-screen information services outside the broadcasting hours, shall also be included in the duration of the advertisement.
(3) In public service broadcasting and in the transmission of public programming advertising shall be inserted between programs, and in composite programs between the individual programs. In sports broadcasts and other broadcasts in which there are natural breaks, advertising may be inserted between the parts and in the breaks.
(4) Public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming may not advertise alcoholic beverages in their broadcasts. The programs of public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming may not be sponsored by any person whose main activity is the manufacturing or distribution of alcoholic beverages.
(5) The employees and external staff of public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming regularly appearing in their programs may not appear in any commercial or political advertisement, either visually or in sound, regardless of the type of contract under which they are employed.
(6)
Section 25.
Only the following programs may be sponsored in public service broadcasting and in the transmission of public programming:
a) religious programs;
b) programs presenting or broadcasting artistic and cultural events;
c) programs presented in the native tongues of national and ethnic minorities, and presenting the life and culture of national and ethnic minorities;
d) programs created for underprivileged groups who are at a grave disadvantage due to their age, physical, mental or psychological state or social circumstances.
Title 3
Special Provisions Pertaining to Public Service Broadcasting
Section 26.
(1) It is the obligation of public service broadcasters to foster the culture and language of the national and ethnic minorities living in Hungary, and to provide information in their native languages on a regular basis by way of broadcasting programs through nation-wide and - with regard to the geographical location of the minorities - regional or local channels targeted for specific minorities, with subtitles in television programs where necessary or by multilingual broadcasting. The duration of the national minority programs may not be less than that on the operative date of this Act on the aggregate on a national or regional level, separately for each national minority.
(2) The nation-wide self-government bodies of national and ethnic minorities, or failing this their national organizations, shall decide independently concerning the guidelines for the allocation of the transmission time made available to them by the public service broadcaster. The public service broadcaster shall abide by this decision, which may not affect the contents and editorial principles of the program.
Section 27.
(1) Public service broadcasters shall provide for the preservation of the cultural values and documents of historic importance they have obtained in connection with their activities in their archives by way of properly categorizing, storing and maintaining them.
(2) The rules and conditions for archiving and the manner of utilization shall be laid down in a separate set of rules by the board of trustees in agreement with the Board.
Section 28.
Title 4
Terms and Conditions of Public Service Broadcasting and Terms and Conditions of Broadcasting
Section 29.
(1) Public service broadcasters shall draw up and adopt the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting, and broadcasters of public programming shall draw up and adopt terms and conditions of broadcasting.
(2) The following shall be governed in the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting and in the terms and conditions of broadcasting:
a) guarantees of independence from political parties and political movements;
b) the principles regarding the presentation of news and political programs of current issues and disputed matters in a broader perspective and in an objective and unbiased manner, and the presentation of the diversity of opinions and views;
c) the professional requirements serving to foster culture in the native language;
d) the guidelines for presenting the culture and life of the national and ethnic minorities living in Hungary, with due regard to what is contained in Subsection (2) of Section 26 of this Act;
e) the system of the objective presentation of cultural, scientific, ideological and religious diversities;
f) the manner of the broadcasting of programs to be provided with distinctive marks;
g) provisions related to minors;
h) advertising and the sponsoring of programs;
i) the broadcasting of public service announcements;
j) the extent and guarantees of the editorial independence and responsibility of the program makers employed by public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming, the guarantees of their participation in the definition of principles with respect to making and editing programs, without prejudice to the right of citizens to the freedom of information;
k) the rules of conflicts of interest and rules of conduct applying to the staff, with special regard to those employed in political and news programs;
l) the professional requirements for program editorial activities;
m) the general responsibilities of transfrontier broadcasting and of the broadcasting referred to in Subsection (3) of Section 134, and the guidelines for the fulfillment thereof and for covering the proposed reception areas.
(3) The terms and conditions of public service broadcasting and the terms and conditions of broadcasting shall have facilities to prevent employees of public service broadcasters and broadcasters of public programming from obtaining any unfair or unjust advantage by way of the orders of public service broadcasters and of broadcasters of public programming as well as the service contracts of the external staff.
(4) The draft version of the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting shall be sent to the board of trustees of the public foundation for approval within nine months of the time of this Act entering into force. The board of trustees may approve the terms and conditions in agreement with the Board.
Section 30.
(1) Magyar Rádió (Hungarian Radio) and Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Television) shall provide public broadcasting services for the vast majority of the population of the country, while Duna Televízió (Duna Television) shall provide such services primarily for ethnic Hungarians living beyond the borders of the Republic of Hungary.
(2) In the case of radio broadcasting, service shall be construed as provided for the vast majority of the population if it can be received by eighty percent of the population in the 87.5-108.0 MHz frequency band; in the case of terrestrial transmission of television programs if available in at least ninety percent of the total reception area.
CHAPTER III
NATIONAL RADIO AND TELEVISION BOARD
Title 1
Legal Status and Organizational Structure of the National Radio and Television Board
Section 31.
(1) The National Radio and Television Board shall serve to preserve and promote freedom of speech by helping broadcasters enter the market, by breaking down any information monopolies and preventing the creation of new ones, and by protecting the independence of broadcasters; furthermore, it shall monitor the enforcement of the constitutional principles of freedom of the press and shall keep Parliament informed thereof.
(2) The Board and its members are subject only to the law, and cannot be instructed within the sphere of their official capacity.
Section 32.
(1) The Board is an independent legal entity under the supervision of Parliament, which is financially managed by duly applying the legal regulations relating to the financial management of bodies governed by public law, including the maintainence of its accounts by the treasury. The budget of the Board shall be approved by Parliament in a separate Act, within the budget stipulated in Subsections (2) and (3) of Section 84, for the debit of the funds specified in Subsection (3) of Section 77. The Parliamentary committee competent for budgetary matters shall submit the draft legislation to Parliament by 31 October of the year preceding the pending budget year, based on the proposition of the Board furnished by 31 August, or, failing this, based on the assessment of the expert(s) appointed by the Board. The State Audit Office shall audit the financial management of the Board.
(2) The Board shall operate on the basis of its current budget until the new budget is approved.
(3) Parliament shall decide, by the approval of the bill on final accounting submitted as described in Subsection (1), on the implementation of the separate law set forth in Subsection (1), including the appendix set forth in Subsection (6) of Section 77. In respect of this law, the deadlines for submission shall be 31 May and 31 August of each year.
(4) The Board is seated in Budapest.
(5) The office of the Board functions as the official agency of the Board.
(6) The term of members of the Board in office shall be construed following termination as time served in employment, or in a public servant or civil servant legal relationship, in a service legal relationship, or in service with a court or a public prosecutor's office.
(7) Employers shall allow members of the Board to take unpaid leave for the entire term in office or any part thereof, as requested by the Board member affected, as of the date of the establishment of the Board. The term of such unpaid leave shall be treated as service time for the purposes of eligibility for pension benefits.
(8) If, prior to his election, a member of the Board terminated his employment, or public servant or civil servant legal relationship, service legal relationship, or service with a court or public prosecutor's office for reasons of conflict of interest in compliance with this Act, he shall be restored to his original position and service relationship on his written request submitted within thirty days of the termination of his term in office on the Board.
(9) The provisions applicable to persons in employment shall apply to the legal status of the members of the Board with respect to social insurance, where their remuneration shall qualify as income serving as the basis for the payments of social insurance and pension contributions. The payment of healthcare contributions shall be governed by Act LXXXVIII of 1996 on Healthcare Contributions. The payment and accounting of these contributions, the system of records and data disclosure shall be provided for in an agreement concluded by the Office of the National Radio and Television Board with the health insurance administration agency and the pension insurance agency empowered to manage the National Pension Insurance Fund.
(10) The employees of the office are civil servants, to whom the provisions of Act XXIII of 1992 on the Legal Status of Civil Servants (hereinafter referred to as "CA") shall apply subject to the exceptions set out in this Act. The head of the office shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Board who shall exercise the employer's rights over him. The legal status of the head of the office is the same as that of the sectoral state secretary.
(11) The office may employ external experts by way of contract.
Title 2
Election of the Board
Section 33.
(1) The Board is elected by Parliament by more than half of the votes of its Members, for a term of four years. The Chairman and members of the Board (hereinafter referred to collectively as "members of the Board") cannot be recalled.
(2) The Board shall be comprised of at least five persons.
(3) The Chairman of the Board shall be nominated jointly by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister.
(4) The other members of the Board shall be nominated by the Parliament factions. Each faction may nominate one member. If there is only one faction on the governing side or the opposition side, that faction may nominate two members.
(5) Candidates may be nominated within eight days of the commencement of the proceedings opened for the election of the Board. The candidates shall be heard, without voting, by the Parliament committee competent in cultural and press matters. Any candidate who is renominated by a faction after an unsuccessful election shall not be heard again.
(6) The election shall be held within fifteen days of nomination. A new candidate shall be nominated in place of a non-elected candidate within fourteen days. A person who did not receive at least ten percent of the votes of all the MPs in the course of the previous election may not be renominated.
(7) The Board is considered established when all its members are elected. If one of the factions fails to nominate a candidate by the deadline specified in Subsection (5) the Board may be established nonetheless; if the faction exercises the right of nomination following the establishment of the Board, Parliament shall thereupon elect a new member to the Board for the remaining term of the Board.
(8) If, following the election of the Board, a new faction is set up, Parliament shall elect a new member to the Board on the basis of the nomination of this faction for the remaining term of the Board.
Title 3
Conflict of Interest
Section 34.
(1) Members of the Board must be Hungarian citizens, must have a diploma of higher education and a clean criminal record, and at least five years of professional experience. Professional experience shall mean, in particular, activities in information service, program editing and production, broadcasting, telecommunications, frequency management, as well as any related technical, legal, administrative, financial, cultural, scientific and public survey activities.
(2) The following persons may not serve on the Board:
a) the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, members of the Government, state secretaries, the Lord Mayor, mayors, chairmen of the county general assemblies and their deputies, MPs or their paid employees, civil servants, officers of the national or regional organizations of political parties;
b) directors and members of the management bodies and managers of broadcasters, program distributors, publishers and newspaper distributors, and those engaged under any form of work-related contractual relationship with broadcasters, program distributors, publishers and newspaper distributors;
c) broadcasters, program distributors, publishers and newspaper distributors and those holding a direct or indirect ownership interest in such business associations;
d) members of the board of trustees of the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation, the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation and the Hungária Television Public Foundation, or the employees of these public foundations.
(3) The close relatives [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] of the persons to whom Paragraphs a)-c) of Subsection (2) apply may not be members of the Board.
(4) Prior to their election, candidates shall make a written statement to declare of not being the subject of any conflict of interest, or, if elected, they will terminate such conflict of interest without delay.
Section 35.
(1) The members of the Board:
a) may not be engaged in any form of employment with any broadcaster, program distributor, publisher of weekly or daily newspapers, or any newspaper distributor under contract of employment or otherwise;
b) may not be the owners (members, shareholders, members of the board of directors or the supervisory board, managing directors or auditors) of the organizations listed in Paragraph a), including the members of the managing organization of the foundation.
(2) The close relatives [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] of the members of the Board may not be the owners (members, shareholders), members of the board of trustees, board of directors or supervisory board, managers or auditors of the organizations listed in Paragraph a) of Subsection (1).
(3) The provisions on conflicts of interest as defined in Subsections (1) and (2) shall remain to apply in the six-month period following the termination of Board membership.
(4) Members of the Board and close relatives [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] of the members of the Board may not enter into any work-related contractual relationship, respectively, during the whole term of the broadcasting right or during the first half of the term of the broadcasting right with a broadcaster that received the broadcasting right during their term in office. In respect of registration as program broadcaster, these time limits shall be four years for members of the Board and two years for close relatives, from the termination of Board membership.
(5) The members of the Board may not pursue political activities and may not make political statements on behalf of a party.
(6) Members of the Board may not perform any gainful activities other than scientific, teaching, literary, artistic and other activities falling under copyright protection, and may not accept remuneration from broadcasters for their scientific, teaching, literary, artistic and other activities falling under copyright protection.
Section 35/A.
Members of the Board shall be dismissed on the grounds of conflict of interest if they deliberately decline to file a compulsory declaration of personal wealth, or fail to file one in due time, or have knowingly disclosed false data or information in the declaration.
Title 4
Obligations of the Members of the Board
Section 36.
(1) Members of the Board shall keep the classified information and business secrets they may obtain in their official capacity strictly confidential.
(2) Upon entering office, members of the Board shall take an oath before the Speaker of Parliament, the text of which is contained in the Schedule to this Act.
(3) Members of the Board shall submit a declaration of personal wealth in accordance with the provisions on Members of Parliament, for the first time within thirty days of the time of their appointment. The provisions governing the registration, control and administration of the declarations of personal wealth of Members of Parliament shall apply to the registration, control and administration of the aforesaid declarations of personal wealth as well.
Title 5
Termination of Board Membership
Section 37.
(1) Board membership shall terminate upon:
a) expiry of the term of the Board;
b) resignation;
c) any conflict of interest;
d) dismissal;
e) expulsion;
f) loss of the mandate;
g) death;
h) termination of the nominating faction;
i) termination of the mandate of the Board [Paragraph c) of Subsection (1) of Section 45].
(2) The termination of membership of any members of the Board shall be established and announced by the Chairman of the Board in the cases listed under Paragraphs b) and f)-i) of Subsection (1), or by the plenary meeting of the Board in the cases referred to in Paragraphs c), d) and e) of Subsection (1). Termination of the mandate of the Chairman of the Board, with the exception set out in Subsection (3), shall be declared jointly by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister.
(3) If any conflict of interest arises in respect of a member or the Chairman of the Board, and the conflict of interest is not eliminated within ten days of the time of the meeting establishing the conflict of interest, the plenary meeting of the Board shall adopt a resolution to terminate the Board membership of the member in question or the Chairman. The member or the Chairman of the Board may not exercise his vested powers as of the date of the adoption of the resolution establishing the conflict of interest.
(4) Membership shall be terminated by way of dismissal of any member of the Board who is unable to fulfill his vested responsibilities for three consecutive months or more for reasons beyond his control.
(5) Membership shall be terminated by way of expulsion of any member of the Board who:
a) fails to fulfill his vested responsibilities for three consecutive months or more for reasons within his control;
b) is found guilty by a final verdict delivering a term of imprisonment.
(6) The investigating authority shall notify the Board of any criminal proceedings instituted against any member or the Chairman of the Board. The member in question or the Chairman may be suspended by the plenary meeting of the Board subject to a majority of votes or two-thirds of the votes, respectively, from exercising their vested competence, until the final verdict on the criminal act is passed.
(7) If the right of a faction to nominate two Board members ceases, the faction shall have fifteen days to decide which of the members who were elected at the same time they wish to keep in office. In the event of the faction's failure to make such statement, the membership of the members elected at the same time shall be terminated simultaneously, and the right of the faction to post a nomination shall be restored. If the two members were not elected simultaneously, the membership of the one who was elected later shall be terminated.
(8) In the decision-making process of the Board concerning any conflict of interest, dismissal or expulsion, the member affected may not take part in the voting, and the unanimous decision of those entitled to vote is required to resolve such matters. If a unanimous decision is not reached in the case of a repeated voting procedure concerning the issues mentioned above, the Chairman of the Board shall propose to transfer the case to Parliament to make the decision. In this case, Parliament shall adopt a decision on the conflict of interest, dismissal or expulsion with a two-third majority of votes of the MPs attending.
(9) In the case that the Chairman of the Board is affected the member designated in the rules of procedure shall substitute the Chairman in the proceedings defined in Subsections (3), (6) and (8).
Section 38.
(1) In the case of the termination of the membership of any member of the Board the nomination procedure shall be launched within eight days. The new candidate may be nominated by the faction that had originally nominated a candidate for the vacated spot.
(2) The new member shall remain in office for the period remaining of the term of the Board.
Title 6
Remuneration of Members of the Board
Section 39.
(1) The Chairman and members of the Board shall be entitled to the same remuneration and benefits as the salary and benefits of ministers and of state secretaries, respectively. The Chairman and members of the Board are entitled to forty days of vacation time in a calendar year.
(2) Following the expiry of the term of members and the Chairman of the Board, unless re-elected, they shall be entitled to an amount of pay corresponding to their monthly remuneration for an additional period of six months.
(3) Any member of the Board, if released from his responsibilities for health reasons, shall be entitled to severance pay corresponding to six months' remuneration, or remuneration for the number of months spent in office if less than six.
(4) If dismissed for reasons of conflict of interest or in the case of expulsion, the member or Chairman is not entitled to severance pay.
Title 7
Operation of the Board
Section 40.
(1) The Board itself shall define its rules of procedure, which shall be published in the Official Hungarian Gazette (Magyar Közlöny).
(2) The rules of procedure shall govern the matters related to the activities of the members and the Chairman which are not regulated in this Act.
(3) If the Chairman of the Board is unable to attend the meeting of the Board, the responsibilities of the Chairman shall be fulfilled by the members of the Board in the sequence defined in the rules of procedure. The member substituting the Chairman may take part in voting procedures.
Title 8
Responsibilities of the Board
Section 41.
(1) The Board shall be vested with the following responsibilities:
a) invite tenders and evaluate the tenders submitted in connection with broadcasting rights and the satellite channels provided for the purpose of broadcasting and controlled by the Government;
b) carry out the supervisory and oversight responsibilities defined in this Act;
c) operate a Complaint Committee for the investigation of cases reported;
d) operate a program monitoring and analyzing service and shall deliver the reports and findings of investigations to the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation, the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation, Hungária Television Public Foundation, and the Hungarian News Agency, as well as to the public service broadcasters, on an ongoing basis and free of charge. The Public Foundations and the Hungarian News Agency may make recommendations concerning the principles for investigations;
e) review the drafts of any legislation relating to frequency management and telecommunications;
f) nominate members in the number defined in specific other legislation to the National Council for Communications and Information Technology;
g) fulfill the responsibilities related to broadcasting contracts;
h) maintain a public register of the broadcasters being parties to broadcasting contracts, and of the broadcasters, transmission operators and program distributors who are registered by application;
i) control compliance with the broadcasting contracts on a regular basis;
j) draw up opinions and proposals in connection with the theoretical issues concerning the development and improvement of the Hungarian broadcasting system, including the multi-channel cable systems and the connections with the audio-visual sector, and shall partake in the preparations for the making of decisions in this area;
k) initiate the proceedings related to the protection of consumers and to the prohibition of unfair market practices;
l) supply the information necessary for the planning of the central budget and for controlling the implementation thereof;
m) establish the rate (rates) of the program distribution and satellite transmission fees, and shall publish these rates;
n) report to the European Commission concerning the fulfillment of the requirements specified under Subsections (1)-(3) of Section 7;
o) carry out its other responsibilities conferred in this Act and in other legal regulation adopted under authorization granted in this Act.
(2) The Board shall discharge the responsibility specified in Paragraph i) of Subsection (1) through the reception and recording of the broadcast or through the investigation of the broadcast recorded by the broadcaster, and if so requested by the authorities.
(3) The implementation of Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council shall be conferred upon the Board with a view to any intra-Community infringements of national laws on the transposition of Articles 10-21 of Council Directive 89/552/EEC, last amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(4) In connection with the implementation referred to in Subsection (3), as regards mutual assistance the Board shall proceed in accordance with Commission Decision 2007/76/EC.
Section 42.
(1) The Board shall formulate its concept of frequency management affecting broadcasting in due observation of the needs of non-profit-oriented broadcasting services.
(2) The Board shall publish its concept relating to the management of the available frequencies affecting broadcasting in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs.
Title 9
Report of the Board
Section 43.
(1) The Board shall report to Parliament concerning the previous year's activities by March 1 of each year. The report shall contain an evaluation of the following subjects in particular:
a) the status of freedom of opinion and the dissemination of information in terms of balance;
b) any changes in the ownership structure of broadcasters, and the daily newspapers, weeklies, newspaper distributors and program broadcasters connected thereto as defined in Chapter VIII of this Act;
c) the situation of frequency management serving to satisfy the needs of broadcasting;
d) the economic situation of broadcasting and the development of the financial conditions thereof; and it shall propose amendments to this Act where deemed necessary.
(2) The report shall be published in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs.
Title 10
Provisions Governing the Decision-Making Process
Section 44.
(1) In the cases defined in Sections 45 and 46 the chairman shall not vote.
(2) The weight of the chairman's vote shall correspond to the value of the following fraction:
a) if the numbers of the members nominated by the governing and opposition factions are equal, the numerator of the fraction is one, and its denominator is the total number of the members plus one;
b) if the numbers of the members nominated by the governing and opposition factions are not equal, the numerator of the fraction is one, while its denominator is double the number of Board members nominated in a higher number by the governing or opposition factions plus one.
(3) The weight of the votes of the Board members shall be calculated as follows:
a) if the chairman is allowed to participate in the voting, the weight of the chairman's vote shall be deducted from the total votes, and fifty percent of the votes so determined shall be divided equally among the members nominated by the governing faction, while the other fifty percent shall be divided equally among the members nominated by the opposition faction;
b) if the chairman is not allowed to take part in the voting, fifty percent of the votes shall be divided equally among the members nominated by the governing faction, while the other fifty percent shall be divided equally among the members nominated by the opposition faction.
(4) The Board shall adopt its resolutions with a simple majority vote, based upon the votes calculated in accordance with Subsections (2) and (3), with the exceptions laid down in Sections 45 and 46.
Section 45.
(1) The tenders invited in connection with national radio and television broadcasting rights shall be evaluated as follows:
a) in the first round of voting, the chairman of the Board is not entitled to vote. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a two-thirds majority of those entitled to vote;
b) if no decision was adopted in the first round, the Board shall hold a new vote between three to eight days subsequently. In this round, the chairman, too, has the right to vote. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a two-thirds majority of those entitled to vote;
c) if the voting defined in Subsection b) also fails, the Board shall be terminated while the chairman shall remain in office. Within thirty days of the termination of the Board Parliament shall elect new Board members in accordance with the order of nomination and election described in Section 33, with the exception that in this round the members of the previous Board may not be nominated.
(2) The Board elected according to Paragraph c) of Subsection (1) shall, without publishing a new tender notice, decide upon the tenders submitted as follows:
a) in the first round, the chairman, too, has the right to vote. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a two-thirds majority of those entitled to vote;
b) if no decision was adopted in the first round, the Board shall hold a new vote between three to eight days subsequently. In this round too, the chairman has the right to vote. The resolution shall be adopted subject to simple majority of those entitled to vote. If no decision is adopted in this round, a new tender notice shall be published within sixty days.
Section 46.
(1) The general tender conditions and the national and regional broadcasting tender invitations shall be defined as follows, and the tenders invited in respect of the regional radio and television broadcasting rights shall be evaluated as follows:
a) in the first round of voting, the chairman of the Board is not entitled to vote. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a two-thirds majority of those entitled to vote;
b) if no decision was adopted in the first round, the Board shall hold a new vote between three to eight days subsequently. In this round, the chairman, too, has the right to vote. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a two-thirds majority of those entitled to vote;
c) if no decision was adopted in the second round of the voting in respect of the general tender conditions or the tender notices, the Board shall hold a new vote between thirty to sixty days subsequently. The chairman has the right to vote in this round as well. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a simple majority of those entitled to vote;
d) if, in the course of the evaluation of tenders invited in connection with regional radio and television broadcasting rights, no decision was adopted in the second round of voting, a new tender shall be invited within sixty days.
(2) The tenders invited in connection with local radio and television broadcasting rights shall be evaluated as follows:
a) the chairman of the Board is entitled to vote in the first round. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a two-thirds majority of those entitled to vote;
b) if no decision was adopted in the first round, the Board shall hold a new vote between three to eight days subsequently. In this round too, the chairman has the right to vote. The resolution shall be adopted subject to a simple majority of those entitled to vote.
(3) If no decision was adopted in the course of the evaluation of tenders, a new tender shall be invited within sixty days.
Title 11
Complaint Committee
Section 47.
(1) Complaints lodged for any violation of the requirement of providing balanced information (Section 4) shall be heard by the Complaint Committee of the Board (hereinafter referred to as "Complaint Committee"). Members of the Complaint Committee shall be appointed by the Board for a term of five years.
(2) The members of the Complaint Committee shall be independent. They shall be bound only by the law and shall not be bound by any instructions in their official capacity.
(3) The following may not be members of the Complaint Committee: members of the Board, the boards of trustees of the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation, the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation and Hungária Television Public Foundation, and any person who would not be eligible for Board membership. The detailed regulation for the appointment of the members of the Complaint Committee is contained in the Board's rules of procedure.
(4) Members of the Complaint Committee shall forthwith report any conflict of interest to the chairman of the Board. The investigating authority shall notify the Board of any criminal proceedings instituted against any member or the Complaint Committee. The member in question may be suspended from exercising his powers.
(5) The Board shall terminate the appointment of any member of the Complaint Committee in the case of a conflict of interest, and if a court sentenced the member of the Complaint Committee to imprisonment by final verdict for an intentional criminal act.
Section 48.
(1) Each case of complaint shall be heard by a panel of three. One of the members of the panel shall have a law degree.
(2) The rules of procedure of the Complaint Committee and the rules of procedure of the panels proceeding in the individual cases, including the rules relating to the exclusion of a member of the Complaint Committee on the grounds of bias, shall be established by the Board in due observation of the principles of the equal treatment, publicity and impartiality.
(3)
(4) The official duties related to the operation of the Complaint Committee shall be discharged by the office of the Board.
(5) The Board shall discuss and evaluate the findings of the Complaint Committee at least twice a year.
Section 49.
(1) If a broadcaster is found biased in providing information on social issues affecting the population of a reception area, in particular, if it offers the opportunity for presenting or expressing a single or a prejudiced opinion on any controversial issue, or if it grossly violates the requirement of providing objective information in any other way, the advocate of the opinion not expressed or the injured party (hereinafter referred to as "objector") may lodge an objection with the broadcaster.
(2) The objector may request the broadcaster in writing to disseminate its position under circumstances similar to those of the presentation of the protested communication within forty-eight hours of the broadcasting of the protested communication, or, in the case of multiple broadcastings, of the last transmission; in the case of a person residing (staying, operating) outside the borders of the Republic of Hungary, within eight days. The objector may not exercise his right of protest if another advocate of the same position has already been given a chance to present the opinion that was not presented earlier, or if the objector has been given this opportunity but has failed to take advantage thereof.
(3) The broadcaster shall decide whether to accept or reject the objection within forty-eight hours of receipt. The objector shall be informed of the decision without delay. The objector may submit a written complaint, identifying precisely the program in question and the broadcaster, to the Complaint Committee within forty-eight hours of the communication of the decision, or, in the case of no such communication, within six days of the protested or injurious broadcast; in the case of foreigners, within twelve days. A complaint may be submitted to the Complaint Committee also if the broadcaster fails to comply with the contents of the objection in spite of a statement of acceptance. In this case, the complaint shall be submitted to the Complaint Committee within forty-eight hours of the expiry of the deadline specified for compliance with the objection.
(4) The Complaint Committee shall, within fifteen days of the submission of the complaint, make its opinion known concerning the issues presented by the objector.
(5) At the request of the Complaint Committee the broadcaster shall, without delay, make the recordings of the disputed program available for the Complaint Committee, and shall provide the Complaint Committee with the information required in connection with the matter.
(6) The Complaint Committee may hear the broadcaster and the objector and shall be able to form an opinion irrespective of either party's absence from the hearing.
Section 50.
(1) The Complaint Committee shall reject unsubstantiated complaints and complaints submitted not in conformity with the conditions set out in this Act.
(2) If, based upon the findings of the Complaint Committee, the broadcaster has violated the requirement of the impartial provision of information, the broadcaster shall relay the opinion of Complaint Committee, without any commentary, without any alteration at the date and in the manner prescribed by the Complaint Committee, or shall enable the objector to present his views.
(3) In the case of more serious or repeated violations of the requirement of providing impartial information the Complaint Committee may suggest to the Board to impose a fine.
Section 51.
(1) Request for remedy against the opinion of the Complaint Committee may be submitted to the Board within forty-eight hours of the disclosure of the opinion. Any request lodged by the broadcaster for remedy shall have a suspensory effect.
(2) The Board shall deliver a decision concerning any request for remedy within eight days. In the event that the Board's decision is for the objector, or that the Board rejects the broadcaster's request, the opinion of the Complaint Committee shall be implemented without delay.
(3) A court may be requested to review the resolution of the Board. The court shall proceed in accordance with the provisions contained in Chapter XX of Act III of 1952 on the Code of Civil Procedure, as amended (hereinafter referred to as "CCP"). The court may overturn the resolution of the Board.
(4) In addition to presenting an objection that is found substantiated in the program of the broadcaster, the final decision incriminating the broadcaster shall be published in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs.
Title 12
Cooperation between the Board and the National Communications Authority
Section 52.
(1) In the interest of the preparation of broadcasting tenders, the Board shall request the National Communications Authority, via the minister in charge of communications, to draw up the list of broadcasting possibilities and the related frequency plans.
(2) If the National Communications Authority is unable to satisfy the request by the time indicated by the Board, the minister in charge of communications may allow the extension of the deadline.
(3) The Board shall define the following in the request mentioned in Subsection (1):
a) the theoretical considerations necessary for frequency planning for transmission purposes, in particular, in respect of the purpose of frequency use;
b) the preferences to be applied in frequency planning for transmission purposes;
c) the schedule and guidelines of frequency planning for transmission purposes.
(4) The frequency plan prepared by the National Communications Authority shall contain the following:
a) nominal business establishments of the transmitters, in the case of terrestrial transmission, and the other technical requirements of installation;
b) the proposed reception area that may be supplied by the transmitters;
c) the frequency band identified by the signals defined in the International Radio Rules.
(5) The Board may return the frequency plan for amendment.
(6) The Board shall post the frequency plan for public display for a period of at least fifteen days prior to approval. The Board shall publish a notice concerning the posting and its location in at least two national daily newspapers at least two weeks prior to the initial date of posting; in this notice the Board shall identify the place and time of the public hearing to be held in ten days following the closing of the public display, at the earliest. Section 94 shall apply to the public hearing.
(7) The frequency plans and the theoretical considerations for planning are public information, available to anybody at the National Communications Authority.
Title 13
Partnership with the European Commission
Section 52/A.
The Board may provisionally suspend transmissions and retransmissions of the broadcasts specified under Subsection (5) of Section 1/A if the following conditions in Paragraphs a)-d) are fulfilled:
a) a broadcast, or any component thereof, falling under the Category specified in Subsection (5) of Section 5/B or under the Category specified in Subsection (4) of Section 5/B, if the latter is not broadcast in compliance with Subsection (3) of Section 5/C, or if the program, or any component thereof, infringes Subsection (2) or (3) of Section 3;
b) during the previous 12 months, the broadcaster has infringed Paragraph a) on at least two prior occasions;
c) the Board has notified the broadcaster and the European Commission in writing of the alleged infringements and of the measures it plans to take should any such infringement occur again;
d) consultations with the Member State of the European Union having jurisdiction over the broadcaster and with the European Commission have not produced an amicable settlement within 15 days of the notification provided for in Paragraph c), and the alleged infringement persists.
CHAPTER IV
PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTERS
Title 1
Public Foundations
Section 53.
(1) In accordance with Sections 140-141, Parliament shall establish the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation and the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation, and, at the initiative of its founder, reorganize Hungária Television Public Foundation (hereinafter referred to collectively as "public foundations") with a view to providing for public service broadcasting and the protection of its independence.
(2) This Act shall not deal with the name, purpose and assets of Hungária Television Public Foundation.
(3) The charter documents of the public foundations (the amendment to the charter document of Hungária Television Public Foundation) shall be approved by Parliament subject to a two-thirds majority of the attending MPs. The issues of the operation and organizational structure of public foundations not regulated in this Act shall be governed in the charter document.
(4) In the absence of any provision of this Act to the contrary, the general rules relating to public foundations shall apply to the above-specified public foundations.
Section 54.
(1) The starting capital of the public foundation shall be established by Parliament in the charter document.
(2) The founder shall, through supplementary asset allocation, transfer the following assets as earmarked assets:
a) the state-owned movable and immovable property and rights of Magyar Rádió (Hungarian Radio), a publicly financed body, to the Hungarian Radio Public Foundation;
b) the state-owned movable and immovable property and rights of Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Television), a publicly financed body, to the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation;
c) the state-owned movable and immovable property used jointly by Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió, bodies funded by the central budget, following the division of property or, as is defined in the charter documents of the companies, to the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation and/or the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation.
Boards of Trustees
Section 55.
(1) The managing organizations of public foundations are the boards of trustees.
(2) The boards of trustees shall be comprised of the members elected by Parliament and of members delegated by the organizations defined in this Act.
(3) The members elected by Parliament shall form the bureau of the board of trustees.
(4) Parliament shall elect at least eight members to each of the three boards of trustees, voting separately for each one, requiring the votes of more than one half of the MPs.
(5) One half of the members who may be elected by Parliament to the board of trustees shall be nominated by the governing faction and the other half by the opposition faction; at least one candidate of each faction shall be elected.
(6) Nominations for candidates shall be made within eight days of the opening date of the election procedure. The election shall be held within fifteen days of the nomination of candidates.
(7) In the event of any faction's failure to make a nomination, another (the other) faction(s) of the given side may nominate four persons each. A new candidate shall be nominated in place of a candidate not elected, and the new election shall be held within fifteen days. A person who did not receive at least ten percent of the votes of all the MPs in the previous round of election may not be renominated.
(8) The bureau of the board of trustees comes to existence when all members are elected. However, if either the governing faction or the opposition faction does not nominate a candidate the bureau of the board of trustees may be established nonetheless.
(9) The bureau of the board of trustees is elected for a term of four years.
If, during the term of the bureau, there is a change in respect of the governing and opposition factions, this shall not affect the term of the members of the bureau, however, a new member or members shall be elected on the basis of new nomination(s) for the remaining term of the bureau if it is necessary with a view to maintaining equal ratios. If the factions of the given side are unable to come to an agreement in nominating a joint candidate (candidates), the nomination shall be decided by drawing.
(10) The president of the board of trustees, and also of the bureau, shall be elected by Parliament from among the members of the bureau on the basis of the nomination of the governing faction(s), while the vice president shall be elected by Parliament from among the members of the bureau on the basis of the nomination of the opposition faction(s).
(11) If the factions are unable to come to an agreement concerning the nomination of the president and the vice president, the nomination shall be decided by drawing.
Section 56.
(1) The following organizations shall delegate a total of twenty-one members to each of the board of trustees of the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation and to the board of trustees of the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation:
a) the national self-governments of the national and ethnic minorities living in Hungary, or failing these their national federations, one person;
b) the Hungarian Catholic Church, the Reformed Church in Hungary, the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary and the Association of the Hungarian Jewish Religious Communities, one person;
c) the churches other than those mentioned in Paragraph b), one person;
d) the national human rights organizations, one person;
e) the national associations of professionals operating in the areas of literature, theatre, film, performing arts, music, dance, fine arts and crafts and in other areas of culture, four persons;
f) the national associations of professionals operating in the areas of education and science, two persons;
g) the national federations of trade unions, one person;
h) the national trade organizations of interest representation of employers and entrepreneurs, one person;
i) the national trade organizations of interest representation of journalists, one person;
j) the national organizations of environmental protection, nature preservation and animal protection, one person;
k) the national organizations of interest representation of women, one person;
l) the national organizations of interest representation of children and youth, one person;
m) the national organizations of interest representation of pensioners, one person;
n) the national organizations of interest representation of the disadvantaged due to their physical handicap, one person;
o) the national organizations of interest representation of sports, one person;
p) the national organizations of interest representation of the local governments of communities, one person;
r) organizations of ethnic Hungarians living in minority status, one person.
(2) The following organizations shall delegate a total of twenty-three members to the board of trustees of Hungária Television Public Foundation:
a) the national self-governments of the national and ethnic minorities living in Hungary, or failing these their national federations, one person;
b) the Hungarian Catholic Church, the Reformed Church in Hungary, the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary and the Association of the Hungarian Jewish Religious Communities, one person;
c) the churches other than those mentioned in Paragraph b), one person;
d) the national human rights organizations, one person;
e) the national associations of professionals operating in the areas of literature, theatre, film, performing arts, music, dance, fine arts and crafts and in other areas of culture, three persons;
f) the national associations of professionals operating in the areas of education and science, two persons;
g) the national trade organizations of interest representation of journalists, one person;
h) the national organizations of environmental protection, nature preservation and animal protection, one person;
i) the national organizations of interest representation of women, one person;
j) the national organizations of interest representation of children and youth, one person;
k) the national organizations of interest representation of the disadvantaged due to their physical handicap, one person;
l) the national organizations of interest representation of sports, one person;
m) the representatives of organizations of ethnic Hungarians in the neighboring countries, seven persons; the body entitled to represent the Hungarians scattered around the world in the World Federation of Hungarians, one person.
(3) The bodies referred to in Paragraph r) of Subsection (1) and Paragraph m) of Subsection (2) shall be notified by the Board on the recommendation of the Government Office for Hungarian Minorities.
Section 57.
(1) With the exception of the organizations mentioned in Subsection (3) of Section 56, the ones registered by the Board are entitled to delegate members.
(2) The Board shall publish the notice concerning registration in the Official Hungarian Gazette (Magyar Közlöny) by 31 January of each year. Applications for registration may be submitted by 15 March of each year.
(3) From among the applicants the Board shall register the organizations which had been registered by the court (authorities) in accordance with the applicable regulations at least two years before the publication of the notice inviting applications. The applicant shall specify the group defined in Section 56 to which it belongs.
(4) Members of the board of trustees are delegated for a term of one year.
(5) The organizations falling into the same group according to Section 56 and registered by the Board are entitled to delegate representatives annually to the board of trustees. If the participants cannot fully agree upon the delegation, the decision shall be adopted by way of public drawing. The drawing shall be performed by the Board in front of a notary public, by April 1 of each year, simultaneously for all three boards of trustees. Those organizations whose representatives are present may participate in the drawing. The agreement or drawing concerning delegation shall be for one year.
(6) By way of drawing one organization may delegate a representative to only one board of trustees at any given time. If the organization is entitled to nominate more than one delegate, it shall specify the board of trustees to which it wishes to delegate a member. In respect of the other board(s) of trustees the drawing shall be repeated.
(7) If an organization has already exercised its right of delegation and there are other organizations in the same group that have not yet delegated a member, this organization may not take part in the agreement or in the drawing within three years of the expiry of its term on the board of trustees.
Section 58.
(1) The provisions pertaining to conflicts of interest defined in Subsection (2) of Section 34, with the exception of Paragraph d), and in Subsection (1) of Section 35 shall apply to the members and chairmen of the boards of trustees. The close relatives [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] of the chairman and the members of the bureau may not be employed by the public service broadcaster concerned in an executive position.
(2) Members of the boards of trustees may not establish a work-related contractual relationship with the public service broadcaster on the board of trustees of which they were members, within one year of the termination of their membership, or within two years with respect to the chairman and the members of the bureau.
(3) The mandate of the board of trustees may be withdrawn prior to the expiry thereof by Parliament upon the recommendation of the competent parliamentary committee on the basis of the provisions defined in Subsection (6) of Section 74/C of the Civil Code. The decision for the dismissal of any member or the chairman (deputy chairman) of the board of trustees for reasons of conflicts of interest or for the reasons set out in Subsections (4)-(5) of Section 37 of this Act shall be adopted by Parliament; in respect of the delegates of the organizations the decision shall be taken by the delegating organization. The decision of Parliament is subject to a two-thirds majority of the attending MPs.
(4) The members (chairman) of the board of trustees may not be employed by a public foundation and they are subject to the provisions of Subsection (5) of Section 35. They may not accept any valuable consideration under any title from the public service broadcaster they are liable to supervise.
Powers and Responsibilities of the Board of Trustees and the Bureau
Section 59.
(1) Powers of the board of trustees:
a) in respect of the public service broadcasting companies exercising the rights conferred upon the general meeting on the basis of Act VI of 1988 on Economic Associations (hereinafter referred to as "Companies Act"), subject to the exceptions set out in this Act;
b) approval of the annual plan for financial management of the public foundation and establishing its balance sheet;
c) making recommendations to the Board in the interest of increasing the revenues from usage charges;
d)
e) that which is delegated by the charter document of the public foundation, in accordance with this Act, to its competence.
(2) The bureau shall manage the assets of the public foundation in the capacity of the manager of the public foundation.
Financial Management of Public Foundations
Section 60.
(1) The revenues of the public foundation shall comprise the following:
a) the proportion of the revenues from usage charges specified in this Act;
b) the proportion of the revenues from broadcasting fees specified in this Act;
c) the proceeds from the assets of the public foundation;
d) other receipts serving the purposes of foundations (subsidies and target subsidies from the central budget, payments made to the foundation).
(2) The following comprise the expenditures of the public foundation:
a) contributions to the operating and development expenses of the public service broadcaster;
b) the public foundation's own expenses (expenditures).
(3) Public foundations may not engage in any business operations, may not found any business association or public-benefit organization, may not acquire shares in other existing business associations, and are not entitled to establish foundations.
(4) Public foundations shall cover their operating expenses from their share of the usage charges and shall allocate any unused sums for supporting public service broadcasters.
(5) The financial management of public foundations shall be controlled by the State Audit Office.
Operation of the Board of Trustees and the Bureau
Section 61.
(1) The board of trustees shall meet at least quarterly and the bureau shall meet at least monthly, or they shall meet as often as they deem necessary to discharge their respective responsibilities. The meeting shall be convened by the chairman of the board of trustees (bureau) also if the subject falls within the competence of the general meeting. The general manager of the public service broadcaster shall be invited for these items on the agenda. The chairman is required to call an extraordinary meeting of the board of trustees (bureau) when so requested by the majority of the members of the board of trustees (bureau) presented together with the agenda within eight days. In the event of non-compliance the members lodging the request shall be entitled to convene the extraordinary meeting collectively.
(2) Members of the board of trustees (including the members of the bureau, the chairman and the deputy chairman) shall have equal voting rights.
(3) The meeting has a quorum if more than half of the members and the chairman or the deputy chairman are present. The majority vote of those present is necessary for adopting decisions. However, a two-thirds vote of the members attending the meeting of the board of trustees is required for the election of the general manager of the public service broadcaster and for the one-time extension of his term in office [Paragraph b) of Subsection (1) of Section 66].
(4) By way of derogation from what is contained in Subsection (3), decisions for the dismissal of the general manager or for the prohibition of the appointment or the withdrawal of the appointment of the deputy general manager [Paragraph c) of Subsection (1) of Section 66] must be supported by two-thirds of all the members, as well as the matters defined in Paragraph b) of Subsection (2) of Section 66 at bureau meetings. Dismissal of the general manager shall be supported by more than one half of all members of the board of trustees [Paragraph d) of Subsection (1) of Section 66].
(5) The chairman shall draw up the agenda of the meeting and shall also preside over the meeting. Any member may make a proposal as to the items on the agenda in writing, in advance, and the meeting shall decide whether or not to accept them.
(6) If the bureau is unable to make a recommendation concerning the person of the general manager of the broadcaster under Paragraph b) of Subsection (2) of Section 66 with the two-thirds majority of all the members, and if fails to obtain the same percentage of support for inviting new applications within thirty days of the deadline for submitting applications, its appointment shall terminate. Parliament shall elect a new bureau within one month where the members of the previous bureau may not be nominated.
(7) The administrative, management and procedural responsibilities of the board of trustees shall be fulfilled by the secretariat. Other provisions concerning the organizational structure and operation of the secretariat of the board of trustees shall be laid down in the charter document.
Supervisory Organization of the Public Foundation
Section 62.
(1) The activities of the board of trustees of the public foundation are controlled by the supervisory body.
(2) The supervisory body shall be comprised of a chairman and two members.
(3) The chairman and one member of the supervisory body shall be nominated by the opposition Parliament factions, while the other member shall be nominated by the governing faction in accordance with the provisions applicable to the bureau of the board of trustees, with the exception that MPs may also be nominated. They shall be elected according to the provisions applicable to the members of the bureau of the board of trustees.
(4) The supervisory body may request the board of trustees to provide information and may have access to documents. It may not adopt decisions binding on the board of trustees. In the case of any unlawful decision of the board of trustees, discrepancies related to the financial management of the public foundation, and decisions violating or endangering the implementation of the objectives of the foundation, the supervisory body shall inform the Speaker of Parliament and/or the State Audit Office. The annual report of the board of trustees shall be presented to Parliament together with the assessment of the supervisory body.
Remuneration of the Members of the Board of Trustees and the Supervisory Body
Section 63.
Members of the bureau are entitled to a remuneration corresponding to one hundred and forty percent of the basic remuneration of MPs, the chairman is entitled to a remuneration corresponding to two hundred percent of the above basic remuneration, the deputy chairman is entitled to a remuneration corresponding to one hundred and eighty percent of the basic remuneration, the members of the supervisory body are entitled to seventy percent of the basic remuneration, while the chairman of the supervisory body is entitled to an amount corresponding to one hundred percent of the said basic remuneration, plus expenses. Other members of the board of trustees shall also be reimbursed for their expenses.
Title 2
Magyar Rádió Private Limited Company, Magyar Televízió Private Limited Company and Duna Televízió Private Limited Company
Section 64.
(1) With a view to discharging the responsibilities of the national public service radio and television, the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation and the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation shall establish the Magyar Rádió Private Limited Company (hereinafter referred to as "MR Rt.") and the Magyar Televízió Private Limited Company (hereinafter referred to as "MTV Rt.").
(2) Magyar Rádió (Hungarian Radio) and Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Television) shall operate as a single member private limited company formed by the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation and the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation following the procedures specified in Sections 141-143 of this Act, as of the date defined therein.
(3) The provisions of the Companies Act applicable to private limited companies shall duly apply to MR Rt., MTV Rt. and Duna TV Rt. (hereinafter referred to collectively as "companies"), subject to the exceptions set out in this Act, including the common provisions of business associations as well.
(4) The companies shall each have a share that is non-negotiable.
Section 65.
Public foundations shall exercise the founder's and shareholder's rights defined in Sections 288-300 of the Companies Act in respect of the companies. However, they are not entitled:
a) to change the basic scope of activities of the companies;
b) to terminate, merge, demerge or transform the companies into another organizational form;
c) to disappropriate assets or profits (dividends) from the companies;
d) to define the program structure, and the contents of the broadcasts and programs of the companies;
e) to give the general manager of the company instructions in respect of the employer's rights conferred upon him;
f) to adopt a decision in any matter that is conferred under the competence of another organization or the general manager of the company by this Act.
Competence of the General Meeting
Section 66.
(1) The following shall fall within the competence of the board of trustees:
a) establish and amend the charter document of the public service broadcaster, as a private limited company, and publish it in the Official Hungarian Gazette (Magyar Közlöny);
b) elect the general manager of the company, and to renew his appointment once;
c) recall the general manager of the company, prohibit the appointment or the withdrawal of the appointment of the deputy general manager - at the meeting of the board of trustees following the action taken by the general manager of the company;
d) propose the recall of the general manager of the company;
e) protect the independence of the company;
f) approve the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting and publish it in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs, enforce the requirements it contains and evaluate compliance annually;
g) approve the rules for archiving procedures;
h) evaluate the objectives contained in the application of the general manager of the company annually;
i) increase and reduce the initial capital;
j) approve the principles and key accounts of the annual financial management and financial plan;
k) approve the annual transmission time and authorize any amendment thereof;
l) define the amounts of money to be used for new motion picture works produced in Hungary to be used in broadcasting, with due respect to the ratio of those made externally;
m) approve the balance sheet and the profit and loss account;
n) elect and recall the members of the supervisory boards of the companies, with regard to the provisions contained in Section 13 of the Companies Act;
o) elect the auditor and terminate his appointment.
(2) The bureau of the board of trustees shall be vested with the following exclusive powers and responsibilities:
a) invite applications publicly in respect of the office of the general manager of the company, evaluate the applications received, establish the remuneration of the general manager;
b) make proposals concerning the election of the general manager, or invite new applications, make proposals concerning the recall of the general manager and for the one-time extension of his term in office without inviting applications;
c) control the financial management of the company;
da) grant prior authorization for negotiating contracts of more than one billion forints or for ten percent of the proposed annual turnover;
db) grant prior approval for borrowing and for contracts of more than three hundred million forints, or three percent of the proposed annual turnover;
dc) authorize the alienation of immovable property, and the alienation of rights valued at over one hundred million forints;
e) make proposals concerning the election and recall of the members of the supervisory board, establish their remuneration;
f) make proposals concerning the appointment of the auditor and the termination of his appointment, establish his remuneration;
g) monitor the enforcement of the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting, make preparations for the annual evaluation of the board of trustees;
h) monitor the implementation of the objectives defined in the application of the general manager of the company on a regular basis, make preparations for the annual evaluation of the board of trustees.
Section 67.
(1) Companies shall be managed by the general manager; there is no board of directors. The general manager shall exercise all the powers which are delegated by the Companies Act to the board of directors of private limited companies. The general manager shall be signed to a personal service contract, and his remuneration shall be established, once annually, at a monthly amount to the debit of the company.
(2) The deputy general manager(s) of the companies shall be engaged under contracts of employment.
Section 68.
The general manager of the company shall report to the board of trustees (bureau) concerning the activities of the company.
Section 69.
(1) Persons who held the offices of President of the Republic, Prime Minister, member of the Government, state secretary, sectoral state secretary, MP, lord mayor, officer of the national or regional organization of a political party in the preceding two years may not be elected to be the general manager of the company.
(2) Based on the application, the general manager of the company shall be elected by the board of trustees by secret ballot for a term of four years. The application shall contain the detailed plans and concepts of the applicant concerning the information and cultural broadcast policies and business policy of the company, and other issues defined by the bureau.
(3) The bureau shall invite applications one hundred and twenty days prior to the expiry of the term of the acting general manager of the company, or, in the case of the termination of the general manager for any other reason, within fifteen days following his termination.
(4) The board of trustees may renew the term of the general manager of the company on one occasion, without inviting applications, for an additional four years from the expiry of the original term.
Section 70.
(1) During his term in office the general manager of the company may not be:
a) an MP;
b) a member of a political party;
c) a member or chairman of the board of trustees or the Board;
d) a member holding a share in the capital of a business association, or the executive officer or supervisory board member of a business association which is engaged in any business relationship with any of the companies;
e) a member holding a share in the capital of another business association that is engaged in broadcasting or publishing;
f) a member holding a share in the capital of a business association, or the executive officer or supervisory board member of any business association in which the Hungarian State has a majority share.
(2) During his term in office the general manager of the company may not pursue any gainful activity other than scientific, educational, literary, artistic and other activities under copyright protection and is not entitled to any fees from the company under his direction on these legal grounds, and is obliged to offer the royalty due to him from the company under his direction for charitable purposes.
(3) The general manager of the company may not pursue any activities on behalf of a political party and may not make any public statements on behalf of a political party.
(4) The general manager of the company shall, prior to the commencement of his activity, make a written statement declaring that no conflict of interest prevails in respect of him.
(5) The general manager of the company may not accept an executive office in a business association that is controlled by the State for two years following the expiry of his term in office.
Section 71.
The general manager shall direct the company in accordance with this Act, other legal regulations, the charter document, the resolutions of the board of trustees (bureau) and the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting.
Within the framework of the above, he shall:
a) decide upon the order of broadcasting;
b) draw up the organizational and operational regulations;
c) submit the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting, and provide for the implementation thereof;
d) submit the rules for the archiving procedures, and provide for the implementation thereof;
e) draw up and present for approval the annual financial management plan, and provide for the implementation thereof;
f) prepare the balance sheet and the profit and loss account, and submit them to the board of trustees for approval;
g) submit the proposals concerning the authorization of contracts [Subparagraph dc) of Subsection (2) of Section 66];
h) submit the proposals requiring authorization for negotiation, or prior approval [Subparagraphs da) and db) of Subsection (2) of Section 66];
i) exercise the employer's rights in respect of the employees of the company, including the deputy general manager(s);
j) provide for the preparation of all other proposals which are prescribed by this Act and the charter document or the resolution of the board of trustees;
k) exercise all the rights, with the exceptions set out in this Act, which are delegated by the Companies Act to the competence of the board of directors of private limited companies.
Section 72.
The general manager of the company may not receive remuneration on any grounds from the owner of the company.
Supervisory board of the Company
Section 73.
(1) The management of the company shall be controlled by the supervisory board. It is entitled to request information from the general manager and the employees of the company, to inspect the books, current accounts, documents and cash holdings of the company at any time, or to have them inspected by an expert at the expense of the company.
(2) The supervisory board shall be made up of three members elected by the board of trustees for a term of four years, with the exception of the member elected by the employees. In the case of any changes in the members of the supervisory board or of any addition of new members to the supervisory board, the term of the new member(s) shall expire simultaneously with the original term of the supervisory board.
(3) The supervisory board shall elect a chairman from among its members at its first meeting.
(4) The supervisory board shall establish the rules of its operation itself, and its rules of procedure shall be approved by the bureau of the board of trustees.
(5) The supervisory board has a quorum if at least two members are present at the meeting.
(6) The supervisory board shall inspect all reports to be presented to the board of trustees (bureau) which relate to matters of a financial nature of the board of trustees or the bureau falling within the competence of the general meeting of the company.
(7) The department of internal control of the company shall be under the direction of the supervisory board.
(8) In other respects the provisions of the Companies Act and the charter document shall apply to the organizational structure and operation of the supervisory board.
The Auditor
Section 74.
(1) The auditor of the company shall be elected by the board of trustees for a term of four years.
(2) The responsibilities, rights and competence of the auditor shall be defined in the charter document in accordance with the Companies Act.
Financial Management
Section 75.
(1) The State shall provide funding as appropriate for the broadcasting-related expenditures of the companies as allocated in the "Parliament" Chapter of the Central Budget.
(2)-(3)
(4) The State may grant budgetary subsidies to the Magyar Rádió Private Limited Company through the public foundation, in the "Parliament" Chapter of the central budget, under the title of subsidizing art ensembles.
(5) With a view to promoting its main activity, the company may engage in pursuing business activities and may use the profit it generates only for the maintenance and development of public service broadcasting and for the development of its enterprises.
(6) The company may not hold shares in the capital of another broadcaster.
(7) The works of art owned by Magyar Rádió, Magyar Televízió and Duna Televízió, created prior to the time of this Act entering into force and underlying copyright entitlements, may be used by the public service broadcasters, without infringing the proprietor's broadcast plan, mutually and free of charge, only in their own broadcasts. This provision shall not apply to the application of copyright laws, with the exception of associated legal entitlements of Magyar Rádió, Magyar Televízió and Duna Televízió.
Section 76.
(1) The general manager and deputy general manager of the company and the employees not exempted from this restriction in the organizational and operational rules may not conclude a contract on behalf of the company to which the other party is himself, his close relative [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685], or a company in which he himself or his close relative [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] has an indirect or direct share, other rights or personal interests. If another employee of the company concludes the contract falling within the sphere of interests of those concerned by the restriction, the contract shall be sent to the supervisory board of the company without delay.
(2) The company shall keep records of the contracts with a contractual value in excess of five hundred thousand forints separately. The corporate details necessary for the identification of the contracting party shall be regularly updated in the records, as well as the services and consideration to be provided by the contracting parties. The contracts concluded with the same contracting party in the same calendar year shall be taken into consideration on the aggregate.
CHAPTER V
SYSTEM OF THE SUBSIDIZATION OF BROADCASTING
Title 1
Broadcasting Fund
Section 77.
(1) The Broadcasting Fund (hereinafter referred to as "Fund") is a monetary fund appropriated to provide support to public service broadcasting, broadcasters of public programming, non-profit broadcasting companies, public service broadcasts and programs, to preserve and enhance cultural heritage, to provide for the diversity of programming, and to support the other responsibilities conferred under this Act.
(2) The assets of the Fund can only be appropriated for the purposes defined by law.
(3) The Fund's revenues shall comprise broadcasting fees, tender and application fees, penalties and compensations for damages payable in connection with any breach of the broadcasting contract, fines, usage charges, subsidies payable from the central budget in the form of a flat-rate contribution and supplementary contributions, as well as donations.
(4) Donations made to the Fund shall be treated as public commitments.
(5) The manager of the Fund is the Board. The Fund is a legal entity whose accounts are maintained by the treasury.
(6) The annual budget of the Fund shall be approved by Parliament, as an appendix to the separate law referred to in Subsection (1) of Section 32.
(7) The detailed provisions for the management of the Fund shall be laid down by the Board, in agreement with the minister in charge of public finances, and shall be published in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs.
Section 78.
(1) Minimum half percent and maximum one percent of the annual revenues of the Fund shall be allocated to each of the non-profit broadcasting companies and broadcasters of public programming in the form of repayable or non-repayable financial support. The financial support may be provided for a specific period of the continuous activity of the broadcaster.
(2) Minimum fifty percent of the amount of the broadcasting fees paid by broadcasters to the Fund shall be allocated for the broadcasters' production of public service programs in Hungary in the form of repayable or non-repayable financial support, with special regard to the provisions relating to the production of motion pictures.
(3) The financial support provided to any one public service broadcaster may not exceed one-third of the total amount to be allocated in accordance with Subsection (2).
(4) Financial support may be provided to public service programs and broadcasts, to non-profit broadcasting companies and broadcasters of public programming by way of public tenders. The tender notice shall be published by the Board and the tenders received shall be assessed by the evaluation committee of the Board on a case-to-case basis.
(5) The members of the evaluation committee shall be selected by the Board from among public personalities of repute subject to the provisions on conflicts of interest applicable to Board members. Civil servants may not be elected to the evaluation committee. The parties required to pay broadcasting fees, non-profit broadcasting companies and the trade organizations of interest representation of broadcasters of public programming shall be represented in the evaluation committee.
(6) The Board shall make its decision available to the public.
(7) In respect of the broadcasting of programs described in Subsection (1) of Section 117 the administrator of the Fund shall pay the remuneration due pursuant to copyright laws from the Fund, instead of the operator.
Title 2
Usage Charges
Section 79.
(1) Usage charges shall be paid by any person who has an apparatus suitable for the reception of television programs (hereinafter "television set") engaged. Usage charges shall be paid for each television set, unless this Act provides otherwise.
(2) The amount of usage charges shall be determined each year in the Act on the Central Budget.
(3) The amount of usage charges shall be determined with regard to the competitive and cost-effective operation of public service broadcasters, the maintenance of the broadcasting system, and the funding requirement of public service programs.
(4) Where a television set for which usage charges must be paid is owned and used by more than one private individual, such persons shall agree in writing as to the payment of the fee. In these cases, the party indicated as the obligor in the agreement shall assume the obligation of notification, declaration and payment. Such agreement shall also be indicated in the tax return. If no agreement is reached, the parties involved shall be subject to joint and several liability for the fulfillment of the obligation.
Section 80.
(1) No usage charge is payable:
a) for the second and each additional television set used by a private individual and the persons living in the same household;
b) for the second and each additional television set used by healthcare and children's institutions, the Hungarian Armed Forces, law enforcement agencies, sanatoriums, kindergartens, public education and cultural institutions, public collections, student hostels and social institutions providing personal care, when used in the same building or group of buildings;
c) for rented television sets;
d) for television sets received for testing for a maximum period of fifteen days;
e) for television sets used by the operators of broadcasting, broadcast retransmission, broadcast distribution and broadcast transmission systems, the Board or the National Communications Authority for industrial, reception observation and controlling purposes on the premises of a permanent establishment, or in a place of observation of reception and in a vehicle;
f) for television sets used by a foreign citizen staying in the territory of the country for a maximum period of thirty days;
g) for television sets engaged by diplomatic and consular missions and international organizations, and the members thereof, their employees, including family members, of citizenship other than Hungarian, and by other organizations and persons entitled to exemption on the basis of international agreement;
h) for television sets operated in a closed circuit television system as monitors.
(2) Any person who:
a) is engaged in the distribution and presentation of television sets shall pay usage charges for one television set per sales outlet;
b) is engaged in the renting of television sets, as well as the legal persons and business associations lacking the legal status of a legal person other than those mentioned in Paragraphs b), d), g) and h) of Subsection (1), shall pay usage charges for all the television sets falling within their sphere of activity.
(3) For television sets operated in any restaurant or hotel, other commercial outlets, with the exception defined in Paragraph a) of Subsection (2), or on public premises, the usage charges shall be tripled.
Section 81.
(1) The following shall be exempt from usage charges:
a) persons over the age of seventy if living alone;
b) married couples and domestic partners living in an independent household if one of them is over the age of seventy and the other is over the age of sixty;
c) persons over the age of sixty who support a close relative [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] with no pension, salary or income of his/her own;
d) disabled veterans and widows of casualties of war;
e) the visually or hearing impaired, and disabled persons falling in groups I and II.
(2) In the annual Act on the Central Budget, usage charges shall be allocated in the form of a flat-rate fee on behalf of those defined in Subsection (1), and the fee shall be transferred to the Fund monthly in the amount appropriate.
(3) The persons entitled to exemption shall be exempt from the obligation of payment as of the first day of the month following verification of the exemption. Exemption need not be verified by the persons who had already verified it prior to the time of this Act entering into force.
Section 82.
(1) Usage charges shall be due and payable as of the first day of the month following the month when the television set is installed, and shall be paid until the last day of the month when removed from operation.
(2) If the party liable for the usage charges payable fails to meet the obligation of payment, he shall pay a penalty corresponding to the amount of the fee in addition to the fee that was originally payable.
Section 82/A.
(1) Within the meaning of Subsection (1) of Section 3 of Act XCI of 1990 on the Rules of Taxation (hereinafter referred to as "RTA") the usage charges shall be regarded as a form of tax, with the exception that the tax regulatory duties in connection with this liability, not including on-site inspections and the consequent tax administration proceeding, shall be performed by the agency contracted to collect the usage charges (hereinafter referred to as "Collection Agency").
(2) The Collection Agency shall register the parties required to pay usage charges on basis of the data reported or disclosed, or obtained by inspection.
(3) For the purposes of Subsection (3) of Section 57 of the RTA, the inspection to determine as to whether a television set is installed in a private residence shall be subject to the same provisions governing the inspection of a residence, as a property asset. The tax authority shall not be entitled to enter the residence of a private individual for the purpose of inspection related to the payment of usage charges, if, prior to the inspection, the person liable to pay the fee:
a) provides adequate proof of having fulfilled his obligation of notification; or
b) acknowledges his failure to report his payment obligation.
(4) The tax authorities of local governments shall be entitled to perform on-site inspections, if requested by the Collection Agency or without such request, regarding the private individuals, legal persons or other organizations within the relevant area of competence which are not included in the list containing the parties subject to payment of the usage charges and the places where televisions sets are installed, reported by the Collection Agency to the local tax authority by 1 October of each calendar year within the area of competence.
(5) If according to the findings of the inspection conducted by the local tax authority the taxpayer is found in non-compliance with the requirement to report the occurrence of his usage charges payment obligation, the local tax authority shall impose a fine payable to the community's local government.
(6) The fine shall be twice the amount of the unpaid usage charges, not to exceed the total amount charged for 30 months by a factor of two.
(7) In connection with what is contained in Subsection (5), no tax penalty, default penalty or the surcharge described in Subsection (2) of Section 82 of the Media Act may be imposed for the period that was not reported. The tax authority shall send a copy of the administrative resolution on the discovered fee evasion and the imposed penalty to the Collection Agency.
(8) All data and information obtained by the Collection Agency in the process of the collection of the usage charges shall be handled as confidential tax information and may be used or disclosed to other bodies under the provisions of Section 47 of the RTA.
(9) Network broadcasting companies and AM micro broadcasting companies shall disclose data to the Collection Agency quarterly, by the 15th of the month following the quarter concerning the names and addresses (registered offices and places of business) of their subscribers on record.
(10) The party liable for the usage charges payable:
a) regarding private individuals, shall state in his/her personal income tax return for the tax year or in the statement given to his/her employer granting authority for tax assessment whether he/she has a television set and if it falls under the obligation for the payment of usage charges;
b) regarding legal persons and other organizations, shall state in the final annual tax return described in Subsection (5) of Section 20 of the RTA as to the number of television sets it uses, and the pertaining degree of usage charges of payment obligation;
c) private individuals, legal persons and other organizations not required to file tax returns shall fulfill the obligation described in Paragraphs a)-b) to the Collection Agency.
(11) The state tax authority shall process the data from the tax returns regarding usage charges separately, and shall deliver the results by way of electronic means or by magnetic data media to the Collection Agency within fifteen days. The Collection Agency shall cross-examine such data against its own records on the parties liable for the usage charges payable and shall collect fees from the subscribers that were not previously included in the records.
(12) The administrator of the Fund shall be entitled to receive the information described in Subsection (3) of Section 47 of the RTA, stipulating the right of administrators of extra-budgetary funds to such information concerning the sum of collected fees and of the fulfillment of fee payment obligations, and shall be entitled to monitor the work of the Collection Agency.
(13) The declaration obligation described in Subsection (10) shall be first applied in the tax return for 1997 regarding the fee payment obligation due as of 1 January 1998, and the provisions of Subsection (6) shall be applied in respect of the declaration and reporting obligations established after 1 January 1998.
(14) In connection with the collection of usage charges, regarding the matters not regulated in this Act, the provisions of the RTA shall be observed.
Section 83.
Those parties liable for the usage charges payable shall report:
a) the use of the television set, and termination of such use;
b) the activity defined in Paragraph b) of Subsection (2) of Section 80 and in Subsection (3) of Section 80, as well as the number of television sets, any increase therein, and the amount payable within eight days of the commencement of the payment obligation to the organization responsible for collection.
Section 84.
(1)
(2) Forty percent of the usage charges received by the Fund under any title, with collection costs deducted, shall be due to the Magyar Televízió Private Limited Company, twenty-eight percent shall be due to the Magyar Rádió Private Limited Company and twenty-four percent to Duna Televízió Private Limited Company by way of transfer through the owner public foundation; one percent shall serve to cover the operating expenses of the Board, one percent, divided equally, shall serve to cover the operating expenses of the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation, the Magyar Televízió Television Foundation and Hungária Public Television Foundation, while six percent shall serve the purposes of the tenders to be invited for sponsoring public service programs.
(3) Parliament may supplement the budget of the Board by up to four percent of the usage charges received by the Fund under any title, and the budgets of the boards of trustees by up to three percent, to the debit of the Fund. The boards of trustees shall present their joint proposal to that effect to the committee of Parliament competent in budgetary matters.
CHAPTER VI
BROADCASTING RIGHTS
Title 1
General Provisions
Section 85.
(1)
(2) Broadcasters operating in the form of a limited company may issue registered shares only.
(3) National and regional television channels and national radio channels may operate only in the form of limited companies or in the form of public benefit companies owned outright by local and regional governments, or (and) the self-governments of national and ethnic minorities.
Section 86.
(1) Companies and public service broadcasters authorized by the Board in the procedure defined by law may operate as broadcasters or network operators.
(2) The following persons may not be granted entitlement to broadcast:
a) the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, MPs, members of the Government, state secretaries, the ombudsman, constitutional judges;
b) mayors, the lord mayor, chairmen of the county general assemblies, their deputies, notaries and chief notaries of communities;
c) judges and public prosecutors;
d) employees, national or regional officers of political parties;
e) members of the supervisory boards and boards of trustees of public service broadcasters;
f) general managers and deputy general managers of public service broadcasters, and any person engaged in employment with public service broadcasters under contract;
g) members of the Board, and any person engaged in employment with the Board under contract;
h) executive officers of administrative bodies, the National Bank of Hungary, the Economic Competition Office, the Hungarian National Asset Management Zrt. and the State Audit Office, official auditors, members of the Economic Competition Council;
i) any person engaged in employment with the National Communications Authority under contract.
(3) The following organizations may not be granted entitlement to broadcast:
a) political parties and the business association established by them;
b) government agencies and administrative bodies, unless otherwise prescribed by the Act adopted for the implementation of what is contained in Articles 19/D and 19/E of the Constitution;
c) the business association in which the Hungarian State has a controlling share;
d) the business associations in which any of the entities listed in Subsection (2) have a direct or indirect ownership interest, or have acquired the right to influence their decisions on the basis of an agreement or in any other way, or persons and organizations subject to any restriction on the acquisition of ownership interest.
(4) Providers of telecommunications services in the area of reception proposed for broadcasting shall not be granted broadcasting rights before 31 December 2002, except:
a) if they received the authorization for providing telecommunications services after the conclusion of the broadcasting contract for the purpose of distribution of their own programs by way of transmission;
b) for any program broadcaster who is not engaged in providing other telecommunications services.
(5) Any person who is entitled to broadcast on the basis of a contract or notification may simultaneously be entitled to operate not more than:
a) one national programming service; or
b) two regional and four local programming services; or
c) twelve local programming services.
(6) The restriction specified in Subsection (5) shall not apply to specialized broadcasting, however, the advertising time authorized under Subsections (1)-(3) of Section 16 may only be taken into account by a factor of 0.3 in respect of the programs broadcast in excess of what is contained in Subsection (5).
Section 87.
A business association may not be authorized to broadcast in an area, at least twenty percent of which falls within the limits of a community, if any member or employee of the representative body, the mayor or lord mayor, or any close relative [Civil Code, Paragraph b) of Section 685] of these persons holds an office on the board of directors, management or supervisory board of such business association, or on the board of trustees, if a foundation.
Section 88.
Only network operators are entitled to provide network broadcasting services. The provisions relating to program broadcasting shall also apply to network broadcasting.
Section 89.
(1) Broadcasters shall retain the authentic documentation relating to their programs, including the full record of the output signal of the whole broadcast, for a period of thirty days following transmission (sixty days for national and regional broadcasters), and shall supply them to the Board without delay and free of charge when so requested. In connection with any proceedings or litigation in progress relating to broadcasting, the documents shall be retained for a period of one year following the final and binding conclusion of the proceedings.
(2) Broadcasters are required to utilize self-audit and probing, and to carry out data disclosure and storage on the strength of law or under contract.
(3) Unless otherwise provided by law, the costs of self-audit shall be covered by the person required to utilize the self-audit.
(4) Broadcasters shall supply data to the Board as instructed, in particular:
a) for the enforcement of advertising restrictions and prohibitions, provisions relating to program sponsoring and to the production of programs by others, and to public service broadcasting;
b) for the control of obligations assumed in the broadcasting contract;
c) for compliance with the obligations conferred upon broadcasters of public programming;
d) for establishing the inter-connections indicated in Chapter VIII of the Act;
e) for the control of the fulfillment of the requirements contained in Subsections (1)-(3) of Section 7, including the timetable and explanation specified in Subsection (3) of Section 7 for achieving the ratios defined therein.
(5) Broadcasters shall be required to supply the Board with any and all data and information as is necessary to determine whether their activities fall within the scope of this Act.
Title 2
Key Components of Broadcasting Contracts
Section 90.
(1) The broadcasting contract is concluded between the Board and the broadcaster selected in the tender procedure. A broadcasting contract shall be concluded in connection with programs distributed by way of terrestrial transmission or through a satellite up-link that is controlled (leased) by the Government, or by way of a radio telecommunications system.
(2) The broadcaster has the right and is required to broadcast for the length of time and during the air time agreed to in its tender, in accordance with the transmission time table, under its own distinctive signal, programs consistent with the program structure agreed upon, on its own network and with its own equipment and devices, or with the involvement of a telecommunications service provider (broadcast transmission operator). In connection with broadcast transmission and distribution carried out with one's own equipment no authorization for providing telecommunications services is required, however, the other authorizations prescribed in specific other legislation shall be obtained.
(3) The right-holder shall pay a consideration in the form of a quarterly broadcasting fee, in advance. At the time when the right of broadcasting is awarded, the fee shall be paid for six months in advance. In the event of any delay in payment, the Board may terminate the contract subject to a fifteen-day notice.
(4) Any violation of the provisions contained in Subsection (3) shall be treated as a serious infringement of the law.
(5) The penalty that may be stipulated for any breach of the contract may not exceed fifty percent of the annual broadcasting fee.
(6) Non-profit broadcasting companies are not required to pay the broadcasting fee. Compliance with the conditions of being non-profit-oriented shall be determined by the Board. The broadcaster shall give an account of having satisfied the conditions at the end of each year, at the time specified by the Board.
Title 3
General Tender Conditions
Section 91.
(1) The Board shall publish the general tender conditions relating to the contents and the evaluation of the broadcasting contracts in at least two national daily newspapers. The general tender conditions shall be defined with a view to providing for the freedom and diversity of information and culture, and the preservation and enrichment of the universal and national cultural heritage.
(2) The following shall be defined in the general tender conditions:
a) the material conditions of broadcasting;
b) criteria for the evaluation of the material conditions;
c) the consequences for any breach of the contract, in particular, the penalty, and the conditions for the suspension of broadcasting for a maximum period of thirty days;
d) the conditions relating to the gathering, safeguarding, accessibility and communication of the information necessary to determine the broadcaster's compliance with its obligations.
(3) The material conditions referred to in Paragraph a) of Subsection (2) shall inter alia contain the following:
a) the business plan;
b) a certificate to verify that the broadcaster has sufficient funds set aside to cover operating costs for at least the first three months of operation, without any advertising revenues, in a special current account;
c) description of the technical conditions;
d) presentation of the main characteristic features of the broadcast plan and the broadcast, elaborating upon any information and public service broadcast, in particular, news programs;
e) offer relating to the proposed transmission time.
(4) Tenderers are required to evidence or provide sufficient proof to verify compliance with material conditions.
Section 92.
(1) A separate set of general tender conditions may be adopted for local, regional and national, or satellite broadcasting.
(2) The general tender conditions may define the extent of the owner's voting rights in a broadcasting company in which a local government of a community or a region has a direct or indirect ownership interest, as well as the conditions for the appointment (tender conditions) of the director of such a broadcaster.
Draft of the General Tender Conditions, Public Hearing
Section 93.
The Board shall draw up the draft version of the general tender conditions and shall publish it in its entirety, together with the explanation, in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs. Anybody may make comments in writing, addressed to the Board, upon the general tender conditions within fifteen days of publication.
Section 94.
(1) Between the twentieth and thirtieth day following the publication of the draft version of the general tender conditions the Board shall hold a public hearing (hereinafter referred to as "hearing"). The representative of the National Communications Authority shall also attend the hearing.
(2) A notice concerning the place and date of the hearing shall be published in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs and in two national daily newspapers at least ten days prior to the hearing.
(3) At the hearing, all the interested parties shall be given the opportunity to state their cases, and the representative of the Board and the National Communications Authority shall be enabled to answer the questions raised by such interested parties.
(4) The hearing shall be conducted by an officer of the Board; he shall declare the hearing open if all conditions prescribed in this Act are satisfied.
(5) The chairperson of the hearing shall determine the final agenda after hearing those present and with regard to the agenda announced in advance, if any.
(6) At the hearing anybody may ask questions relating to the subject of the proceedings, and may voice an opinion on the issues relating to the subject.
(7) The persons attending may also ask questions from one another through the chairperson of the hearing.
(8) The minutes of the hearing shall be drawn up within eight days and shall be available for inspection in the office of the Board.
(9) Following the hearing, the Board shall finalize the general tender conditions and shall publish the related decision in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs within thirty days of the hearing.
Title 4
Invitation to Tender
Section 95.
(1) The provisions contained in Sections 93-94 shall also apply to the draft and publication of the invitation to tender and to the public hearing.
(2) The invitation to tender shall contain the details listed in Subsection (4) of Section 52 pertaining to broadcasting prospects, the obligatory contents of tenders and the evaluation criteria of the requirements set out in Paragraphs e), f), g) and i) of Subsection (1) of Section 96 of this Act in numerical terms.
(3) The conditions specified in any invitation to tender may differ from the general tender conditions only if so permitted by law or by the general tender conditions. The general tender conditions shall comprise a part of the invitation to tender.
(4) The time limit prescribed in the invitation for the submission of tenders shall be:
a) at least sixty days for tenders relating to national broadcasting;
b) at least forty days for tenders relating to regional broadcasting;
c) at least thirty days for tenders relating to local broadcasting.
(5) The Board may fix the ratio of public service programs in all programs, or the ratio of programming serving the needs of national and ethnic and other minorities in the tender conditions if the freedom of the provision and obtaining of information and the diversity of culture is not supported in the reception area affected, with regard to the whole of broadcasting. The Board shall authorize a non-profit oriented (public benefit) broadcasting company owned exclusively by the self-government of national and ethnic minorities to broadcast programs with a view to enforcing the rights of the national and ethnic minorities as defined in another Act in minimum four and maximum eight hours of transmission time per week, without inviting a tender, if the needs of the national and ethnic minorities for access to information in their native language cannot be ascertained otherwise in the area to which the tender invitation pertains.
(6) The Board may install in the invitation to tender the requirement for the broadcaster to provide news service on a regular basis, in addition to what is contained in Subsection (3) of Section 8.
(7) The minimum rate for the broadcasting fee below which the broadcasting rights cannot be awarded to any party, other than a non-profit broadcasting company, shall be defined in the invitation to tender.
(8) The invitation to tender may offer an exemption for fifty percent of the broadcasting fee for a maximum period of two years. The exemption shall not affect the funding requirement specified in Paragraph b) of Subsection (3) of Section 91.
(9) Tenderers wishing to submit a tender shall be charged a tender fee. The tender fee shall be five percent of the minimum annual broadcasting fee published. Eighty percent of the tender fee shall be included in the broadcasting fee, and if the tender is rejected eighty percent of the tender fee shall be refunded within thirty days of the date of rejection.
(10) The invitation to tender shall specify the date by which broadcasting shall be commenced. If broadcasting service is not commenced by the deadline for reasons within the right-holder's control, the entitlement shall terminate.
Contents of Tenders
Section 96.
(1) A tender shall contain:
a) the particulars of the tenderer:
- name,
- address (registered office or permanent establishment),
- company registry registration number or court of registry registration number;
b) the name and address of the person (having no prior criminal history) who bears responsibility for the broadcasting activities under this Act and other legislation governing the printed media;
c) if the tenderer is a business association, the memorandum of association and/or the charter document, including any subsequent amendments;
d) statement of the tenderer concerning the size of any direct or indirect ownership interest he may have in any business association that is engaged in publishing Hungarian daily newspapers or weeklies, distributing newspapers, broadcasting programs in Hungary or applying for broadcasting rights in Hungary;
e) basic details of the planned broadcasting:
- type (radio, television),
- area of reception,
- the proposed broadcasting facility,
- broadcasting hours of the service, schedule of transmission time,
- any proposed ancillary information and value-added services,
- permanent name, emblem and signal of broadcasting;
f) the planned program structure, the average monthly transmission time devoted to public service programs, the transmission time intended for the regular daily news programs, the monthly average transmission time devoted to the needs of the national and ethnic or other minorities;
g) other details indicated in the invitation to tender, including the offer relating to the amount of the broadcasting fee;
h) in the case of satellite transmission, the declaration of intent of the supplier of the satellite capacity intended to be used by the tenderer concerning the renting of the channel, also indicating the frequency, technical conditions and fee thereof;
i) the business and financial plans of the broadcaster, and the bank certificate verifying the availability of the amount specified in Paragraph b) of Subsection (3) of Section 91.
(2) The tenders submitted by business associations shall contain details concerning the size of any direct or indirect ownership interest it may have in any business association that is engaged in publishing Hungarian daily newspapers or weeklies, distributing newspapers, broadcasting programs in Hungary or applying for broadcasting rights in Hungary.
(3) The tenderer shall supply a statement in evidence of not being subject to any grounds for disqualification under this Act, and that the acceptance of another pending tender of his will not create grounds for his disqualification.
(4) The Board may not disclose any information from the tender to third parties before the conclusion of the contract. Following the conclusion of the contract, the details listed under Subsection (1), with the exception of what is contained in Paragraph d), shall be made available to the public.
Section 97.
In connection with the tenders specified in Paragraph a) of Subsection (1) of Section 102, the Board shall publish the names and addresses of the tenderers, the nature and area of reception of the proposed programming, and other details in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs within fifteen days following the deadline for the submission of tenders.
Evaluation of Tenders
Section 98.
The Board shall examine:
a) as to whether the restrictions laid down in Sections 85-88 or in Chapter VIII apply to the tenderer;
b) as to whether the tender complies with the substantive and formal requirements defined in the invitation to tender;
c) as to whether tenderer complies with the material and personnel conditions defined in this Act or in the tender conditions established on the basis of this Act,
within ninety days of the deadline for the submission of tenders if it pertains to a national broadcaster, or within sixty days in other cases.
Section 99.
(1) If the tenderer is subject to any of the restrictions, the Board shall adopt a resolution to reject the tender, including justification within the time limit specified in Section 98.
(2) If none of the tenders are able to satisfy the tender conditions laid down in Subsection (5) of Section 95, the Board shall have the right to assess the tenders as if the tender conditions in question had not been announced.
(3) The Board shall return any tender that fails to comply with the requirements set out in Section 95 for providing the missing information or for correction. Any missing information shall be supplied within fifteen days. Failure to meet this deadline shall result in the forfeiture of rights, upon which the Board shall reject the tender.
(4) The tender shall be rejected in the event of the tenderer's failure to pay the tender fee simultaneously with the submission of the tender.
(5) The rejection of a tender under Subsection (1) may be appealed in court. The court, if it finds the action substantiated, may order the Board to provide compensation. Launching a legal action shall not prevent the continuation of the tender procedure.
Section 100.
(1) The Board may enter into a contract with the tenderer that is declared the winner. In connection with local broadcasting, if there is only one tenderer that satisfies the legal and tender requirements, the Board shall conclude the broadcasting contract.
(2) If the daily transmission time indicated in the tender is less than eight hours, the Board shall invite a tender for the remaining transmission time.
(3) If the daily transmission time indicated in the tender is more than eight hours, the Board may invite a tender in respect of the remaining transmission time subject to the consent of the right-holder.
(4) The Board shall enter into the contract following the procedure defined in Section 101 if the broadcasting needs contained in the competing tenders cannot be concurrently satisfied in the manner indicated in the tender.
Section 101.
(1) If the selection is to be made from among competing tenders, the Board may, within the time limit defined in Section 98, invite the competing tenderers to come to an agreement for the dividing up of the broadcasting facilities in terms of time within fifteen days of being invited to do so.
(2) In the absence of an agreement, the Board shall choose the winning tender from among the competing tenders in accordance with the evaluation criteria published in the invitation to tender.
(3) If a non-profit broadcasting company has also submitted a tender, with the exception of national broadcasting, the rights shall be awarded to the non-profit broadcasting company if eighty percent of the inhabitants of the given area already have access to at least two profit-oriented local broadcasting services, and at least one of these is realized through broadcast transmission.
Conclusion of the Broadcasting Contract
Section 102.
(1) A broadcasting contract may be concluded:
a) through selection from tenders submitted in response to an invitation to tender or
b) in respect of a broadcasting facility created as a result of planning conducted by the applicant and approved by the Board on the basis of the controlling inspection conducted by the National Communications Authority, as defined in this Act.
(2) The invitation to tender referred to in Paragraph a) of Subsection (1) shall pertain to the broadcasting facilities worked out by the National Communications Authority and published in advance in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs, and defined by the area of reception, frequency band and other technical characteristics.
(3) The National Communications Authority shall provide information - for a fee - for the planning referred to in Paragraph b) of Subsection (1).
(4) In connection with what is contained in Paragraph a) of Subsection (1), tenders may be submitted:
a) by the deadline specified in the invitation to tender published by the Board; and
b) at any time with respect to the broadcasting facilities remaining after the assessment of the applications received in response to the invitation to tender published under Paragraph a).
(5) The Board shall invite a tender concerning the broadcasting facilities created in accordance with Paragraph b) of Subsection (1). In conclusion of the tender procedure the broadcasting contract shall be awarded to the original applicant, if able to satisfy all other lawful conditions, and if this applicant agreed to pay the highest broadcasting fee offered in the tenders.
(6) The original applicant referred to in Paragraph b) of Subsection (1) may demand reimbursement for its justified expenses incurred in connection with the disclosure of data and planning from the winning tenderer.
Title 5
Allocation of Frequency
Sections 103-104.
Title 6
Operating Conditions
Sections 105-106.
Title 7
Term of Rights
Section 107.
(1) Broadcasting rights for television shall be valid for maximum ten years and for radio for maximum seven years, and may be renewed once upon expiry at the broadcaster's request, without inviting a tender, for an additional five years. The request for renewal shall be notified to the Board fourteen months prior to expiry.
(2) In the absence of the reporting notification referred to in Subsection (1) or if renewal cannot be awarded, the Board shall publish an invitation to tender twelve months prior to the expiry of the license.
(3) The license cannot be renewed if the right-holder violated the contract repeatedly or seriously.
(4) The provisions relating to the award of rights shall otherwise apply to the procedure for the renewal of such rights.
Title 8
Consent to Joining a Network
Section 108.
(1) If, in the case of the proposed connection to a network, the area of reception of the network differs from the broadcasting rights, or the characteristic features of the program differ from the broadcasting rights, connection to the network is subject the amendment of the relevant broadcasting contracts.
(2) The proposed connection to a network shall be notified to the Board by the joining parties collectively. The notification shall contain the name of the network operator and the authorization specified in Paragraphs a) and b) of Subsection (4) of Section 19 of Act LXXII of 1992 on Telecommunications (hereinafter referred to as "TA"). The authorization of interconnection through the procedure of the telecommunications authority may only be refused in the case of the non-compliance with the prescribed technical requirements.
(3) If the notifier complies with the provisions contained in Section 98, the Board shall amend the broadcasting contracts, and shall simultaneously register the joining of the network and the network operator. The broadcasting contract cannot be amended in connection with a regional and local broadcaster joining the network, if the remaining own broadcasting of such broadcaster fails to reach four hours a day.
(4) Broadcasters engaged in the transmission of public programming shall pay a broadcasting fee, unless they join the network for the sole purpose of the broadcasting of their public service programs. A non-profit broadcasting company may form a network only with another non-profit broadcasting company.
Title 9
Changes in the Ownership and Other Details of the Broadcaster
Section 109.
(1) Broadcasting rights are not transferable.
(2) Broadcasters shall notify the Board of any change that may occur in their ownership structure or in any other details, such as in particular:
a) any change in the name and registered office (home address) of the company;
b) for legal persons and business associations lacking the legal status of a legal person, any change in the share of ownership, any amendment of the statutes, the charter document or the memorandum of association;
c) any change in the place where editorial decisions on program schedules are adopted, or in the place where a significant part of the workforce involved in the pursuit of the broadcasting activity operates.
(3) The broadcaster shall supply a statement to declare that any change in its ownership structure does not infringe upon the provisions contained in Chapter VIII of this Act.
Title 10
Frequency Exchange
Section 110.
Title 11
Contract Amendment
Section 111.
The Board may not refuse the amendment of the contract if the area of reception has extended due to an increase in the population serviced by the broadcast transfer system, and in consequence a local broadcaster transferred into a regional broadcaster, or a regional broadcaster transferred into a national broadcaster, provided that the broadcaster otherwise satisfies the requirements set out in this Act pertaining to the new broadcaster in question.
Title 12
Infringement, Breach of Contract
Section 112.
(1) If the broadcaster fails to comply with or infringes upon the conditions and regulations prescribed in this Act, in the Copyright Act, in the broadcasting contract and the radio license, or if any person who is engaged in any form of employment with the broadcaster under contract of employment or otherwise at the time of the commission of the act is found guilty by a final verdict for a crime defined in Section 329 of the Criminal Code, the Board shall:
a) call upon the broadcaster to terminate the unlawful conduct;
b) establish the infringement in a written notice, and shall call upon the broadcaster to terminate the infringement, and to abstain from the infringement in future;
c) suspend the broadcasting rights for a fixed period of maximum thirty days;
d) enforce the penalty defined in the contract;
e) impose a fine in the case of a public service broadcaster or a public service broadcaster operating on the basis of notification, or at the initiative of the Complaint Committee, between the amount limits defined in Section 135;
f) terminate the contract with immediate effect.
(2) The written notice and the penalty defined in Subsection (1) may also be applied in conjunction with any of the other sanctions listed under Subsection (1).
(3) The notice and the suspension of the broadcasting rights shall be published in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs.
(4) The contract shall be terminated with immediate effect if:
a) the contract could not have been concluded, and the unlawful status quo still exists;
b) the contract violates the provisions contained in Chapter VIII of this Act, and the right-holder failed to remedy the grievance in accordance with the resolution of the Board and/or the Economic Competition Office within one hundred and eighty days;
c) since the conclusion of the contract, a written notice under Paragraph b) of Subsection (1) should be served for the second time.
(5) In the case of non-profit broadcasting companies and broadcasters of public programming, the basis of the penalty is the broadcasting fee announced, unless a broadcasting fee is paid.
(6)
Section 112/A.
(1) The non-governmental organizations active in the field of protection of non-smokers shall also be entitled to request the Board to open proceedings for each client with respect to any infringement of the provision contained in Paragraph b) of Subsection (1) of Section 19.
(2) The qualified entities established under the laws of any Member State of the European Economic Area - with respect to the consumer interest they protect - that are included in the list published in the Official Journal of the European Communities pursuant to Article 4 (3) of Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council shall also be entitled to request the Board to open proceedings for each client with respect to any infringements of national laws on the transposition of Articles 10-21 of Council Directive 89/552/EEC, last amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(3) The Board may adopt a ruling for the cessation or prohibition of the infringement with immediate effect for the period ending upon the passing of the peremptory resolution, where such action is deemed urgently necessary with a view to the protection of the legal and economic interests of the parties affected. The Board shall adopt this decision in expedited proceedings.
(4) The Board shall publish its ruling specified in Subsection (3) together with its final resolution on establishing the infringement on its official website and, if necessary, in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs, and shall notify the national news agency thereon.
Title 13
Cable and Satellite Broadcasting
Section 113.
(1) Any broadcaster whose programs are transmitted only by way of a broadcast transfer system shall notify the Board concerning the particulars specified under Subsections (1)-(3) of Section 96 at least thirty days prior to the commencement of its broadcasting activity.
(2) If the Board did not refuse the acceptance of the above notification within sixty days, the notification shall be deemed registered and the amount of the broadcasting fee shall be communicated to the right-holder within the above deadline.
(3) Acceptance of the notification shall be refused if the notifier would not otherwise be eligible to hold the rights conferred under the broadcasting contract.
(4) The broadcaster shall be removed from the register if:
a) registration would be refused;
b) the operator announced the termination of broadcast distribution, or engaged in that activity for a maximum of sixty days total in twelve months;
c) the broadcaster violated its obligation defined in Chapter II of this Act repeatedly and seriously.
(5) The provisions of this Section shall also apply if broadcasting is effected by means other than a satellite that is controlled by the Government.
Title 14
Temporary Broadcasting
Section 114.
(1) In respect of local broadcasting rights, upon request, a temporary broadcasting contract shall be concluded for a maximum period of thirty days for the use of a broadcasting facility:
a) that is contained in the frequency allocation plan published by the Board, and for which no application has been submitted; or
b) for which another party has already acquired broadcasting rights but broadcasting by the right-holder did not commence within sixty days of the conclusion of temporary broadcasting.
(2) In connection with any broadcasting facility not contained in the frequency allocation plan as published, the applicant shall obtain a certificate from the National Communications Authority to verify that the broadcasting can continue without causing any disturbance to others and without the violation of international regulations. The certificate shall contain the technical details defined in Subsection (4) of Section 52. In this case, the Board shall grant the broadcasting rights under a procedure conducted in accordance with the following rules:
a) the invitation to tender shall be published by the Board within eight days of the submission of the application, together with the details specified in Subsection (4) of Section 52;
b) tenders shall be submitted within eight days of publication;
c) tenders shall contain the following:
ca) name and address of tenderer;
cb) the statutes or memorandum of association of legal persons or business associations lacking the legal status of a legal person;
cc) the proposed transmission time in a daily, weekly or monthly breakdown;
cd) the broadcast plan;
ce) name and address of the person responsible for programming;
d) if only one tender is submitted in respect of the broadcasting facility and it complies with the provisions contained in this Act, the Board shall conclude the broadcasting contract with the tenderer;
e) if several tenders are submitted in respect of the broadcasting facility, and all of them comply with the provisions contained in this Act, at the invitation of the Board the tenderers may come to an agreement on the division of the transmission time among themselves. If this agreement is concluded, the Board shall conclude a broadcasting contract with each of the tenderers under the same conditions. If, within three days of the invitation, no agreement is reached, the Board shall decide on whom to award the broadcasting rights to. If a complaint is lodged against the decision, the Board shall conduct the tender procedure in accordance with the provisions contained under Title 3.
(3) A temporary broadcasting contract may be concluded with the same company once annually, or in the same administrative area three times annually, leaving at least one month between the terms of the temporary contracts. A broadcaster authorized to broadcast on a temporary basis may not form a network with another broadcaster.
(4) Non-profit broadcasting companies shall not be required to pay a broadcasting fee in connection with temporary broadcasting contracts. The broadcasting fee shall otherwise be established by the Board.
(5) In the application of this Section, the regulations contained in Chapter VIII of the Act need not be taken into consideration.
(6) The period of temporary broadcasting indicated in Subsection (1) cannot be extended.
CHAPTER VI/A
BROADCAST RETRANSMISSION
Section 114/A.
CHAPTER VII
PROGRAM BROADCASTING DISTRIBUTION THROUGH A BROADCAST TRANSFER SYSTEM
Section 115.
(1)-(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)-(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
Section 116.
(1)
(2)-(3)
(4)-(5)
(6)
Section 117.
(1)-(3)
(4)
Section 118.
(1)
(2)
(3)-(7)
Sections 119-120.
Section 121.
CHAPTER VIII
PROVISIONS PERTAINING TO OWNERSHIP
Section 122.
(1) Nationals of any EEA Member State and legal persons established in the territory of an EEA Member State must hold at least twenty-six percent of the voting rights in a public limited company with national broadcasting rights.
(2) A single company may hold a maximum of forty-nine percent of the voting rights in a private limited company that is engaged in terrestrial transmission of television programs without being connected to the national network.
(3) For the purposes of Subsection (2), direct and indirect ownership interests shall be counted on the aggregate.
(4)
(5) The voting shares of a private limited company engaged in national and regional broadcasting may not be held by a foundation.
Section 123.
(1) With the exception of specialized broadcasters, broadcasters with national broadcasting rights and those holding a controlling share therein may not acquire a controlling share in another company that is engaged in broadcasting or program distribution services.
(2) The same company may acquire a controlling share in an organization holding broadcasting rights subject to the restrictions specified in Subsection (5) of Section 86.
Section 124.
(1) A regional and local broadcaster may not acquire a controlling share in another regional or local broadcasting company serving the same area of reception, with the exception defined in Subsection (2).
(2) The restriction specified in Subsection (1) shall not apply if:
a) there is a maximum overlap of twenty percent between the areas of reception of the two broadcasters; or
b) following the evaluation of tenders an amount of unused transmission time remains, whereupon a new tender is invited and a contract is concluded with the broadcaster referred to in Subsection (1) for the remaining transmission time, provided that eighty percent of the transmission time so acquired differs from the broadcaster's existing transmission time and neither transmission time is in excess of four hours.
(3) In the case of regional or local broadcasting transmitted over cable broadcast distribution systems, the maximum number of channels to be used by a single broadcaster may not exceed one third of its channels used for the distribution of programs in Hungary in the system used by it, but a minimum of one for own broadcasting purposes.
Section 125.
(1) Any person holding a controlling share, publisher's or founder's rights in a daily newspaper with nationwide circulation may not acquire a controlling share in a broadcaster or program broadcaster operating with national broadcast transmission, without being connected to a network, and vice versa.
(2) Any person holding a controlling share, publisher's or founder's rights in a weekly newspaper with nationwide circulation, other than weekly television and radio program guides, may not acquire a majority share in a broadcaster operating with national broadcast transmission, without being connected to a network, and vice versa.
(3) Any person holding a controlling share, publisher's or founder's rights in a daily newspaper with a non-nationwide circulation, that is sold in ten thousand copies daily, may not acquire a majority share in a broadcaster or program broadcaster the reception area of which covers eighty percent of the distribution area of the newspaper, and vice versa.
(4) Any owner, publisher or founder specified in Subsection (3) may acquire a minority share, if another local or regional broadcaster or program broadcaster already operates covering at least seventy percent of the same area of reception.
Section 126.
(1)
(2) Any person holding a controlling share in a newspaper distribution company may not acquire a controlling share in a broadcasting or broadcast transmission company, and vice versa.
Section 127.
(1) A non-profit broadcasting company may acquire other broadcasting rights only as a non-profit broadcasting company.
(2) The operator who broadcasts his own programs may not hold a controlling share in another company that is engaged in broadcasting and may not acquire broadcasting rights outside its own system.
(3) Merger and the acquisition resulting in dominant influence as defined in the Act on the Prohibition of Unfair Trading Practices and Unfair Competition may not be authorized if it results in the infringement of the provisions contained in this Act.
CHAPTER IX
INVITING TENDERS IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN NATIONAL BROADCASTING RIGHTS
Section 128.
(1) The provisions contained in Subsections (2) and (6) of Section 52 shall not apply in connection with tenders published at the time of this Act entering into force for the broadcasting rights designated to MTV2 and Danubius Radio and for the rights for the terrestrial transmission of the third national television channel; in other matters, the provisions contained in Chapter VI shall apply subject to the exceptions set out in Sections 129-131.
(2) The Government shall commence without delay:
a) to allocate the frequencies for the purposes of the third national terrestrial television broadcasting service with a view to designate an area of reception covering at least seventy percent of the total population, subject to additional investment projects to be implemented by the eleventh month following the time of this Act entering into force. The extension of the area of reception to cover at least eighty-five percent of the population shall be provided for within one year of the commencement of broadcasting. The planning for the allocation of the frequencies and the necessary preparations shall be completed by the date of the publication of the tender notice as specified in Section 129;
b) provision of the facilities available in the frequency band of 87.5 to 108.0 MHz for the purposes of two national broadcasting services for the Hungarian Radio, according to the timetable referred to in the first sentence of Paragraph a), where the area of reception shall cover at least eighty percent of the population in the case of one of the broadcasting services, and at least fifty percent of the population in the other.
Section 129.
(1) The Board shall publish a tender notice within one hundred and twenty days of the time of this Act entering into force for the broadcasting rights designated as MTV2 prior to the operative date of this Act, and also for the third national terrestrial television broadcasting rights, where broadcasting shall commence within one month of the commencement of the second broadcasting service of the Hungarian Television.
(2) Tenders shall be submitted within ninety days following publication of the tender notice. The Board shall evaluate the tenders within sixty days of the deadline for the submission of tenders in due observation of the provisions contained in Sections 98-101. Where any missing information is requested the evaluation deadline shall be extended by fifteen days.
(3) In the tender notice the Board shall define the conditions, apart from those prescribed in Subsections (1)-(3) of Section 91 that tenderers should meet.
(4) The tender notice for the television broadcasting rights designated as MTV2 prior to the operative date of this Act shall specify that:
a) the broadcaster shall broadcast public service programs in at least twenty-five percent of its daily transmission time. The public service programs shall be installed during prime time hours in such a way as to bring their weekly average to not less than twenty percent;
b)-d)
e) the ratio defined in Paragraph b) shall also be enforced during prime time.
(5) The extent and rate of the obligations of the third national terrestrial television broadcasting rights, as defined in Subsection (4), shall be established by the Board in the tender. The extent and rate of such obligations shall be established more leniently, compared with those defined in Subsection (4).
Section 130.
(1) With due regard to what is contained in Subsection (2) of Section 132, the Board shall publish a tender notice within ninety days of the time of this Act entering into force for the broadcasting rights designated to Danubius Radio prior to the operative date of this Act, and for at least one national radio broadcasting service announced in the frequency band of 87.5-108.0 MHz. The Board shall specify the frequencies for the broadcasting service designated to Danubius Radio in the tender notice, whereby broadcasting can only be commenced if the Hungarian Radio commenced at least one national broadcasting service using the 87.5-108.0 MHz frequency band. The right for using the name shall be transferred together with the broadcasting rights.
(2) Tenders shall be submitted within ninety days following publication of the tender notice. The Board shall evaluate the tenders within sixty days of the deadline for the submission of tenders in due observation of the provisions contained in Sections 98-101. Where any missing information is requested the evaluation deadline shall be extended by fifteen days.
Section 131.
(1) The broadcasting fee chartered as a result of the tender and payable for the broadcasting rights awarded in accordance with this Chapter shall be comprised of two parts: a lump-sum fee of at least thirty percent of the full amount, and the annual installments payable as of the fourth year.
(2) Seventy percent of the fee payable for MTV2 shall be due to the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation, and the remaining thirty percent shall be due to the Hungária Televízió Public Foundation. The broadcasting fee payable for the rights designated as Danubius shall be received by the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation.
(3) The fee payable for the rights of the third national terrestrial television broadcasting system shall be due to the Broadcasting Fund and shall be used for the development of digital broadcast systems and for the transition to digital technology. This amount cannot be used for any other purposes.
Section 132.
(1) The Magyar Rádió shall, following the tender, transmit three national broadcasts to discharge its duties conferred by law, one of which is to be broadcast in the frequency band of 526.5- 1606.5 kHz, and two in the frequency band of 87.5-108.0 MHz.
(2) The Board shall formulate the national and regional radio broadcasting facilities providing equal opportunity to Magyar Rádió and other broadcasters to acquire the broadcasting facilities with due consideration to the broadcasting norms.
(3) The Magyar Televízió shall, following the tender, broadcast one national terrestrial broadcasting service under the same conditions in terms of frequency use as applicable for the broadcasting service designated MTV1 prior to the time of this Act entering into force, and another national broadcasting service.
(4) Following the examination of the technical, economic and legal conditions of the secondary broadcasting service defined in Subsection (3), the Board shall adopt a decision - taking into consideration the opinion of the board of trustees - concerning implementation, stipulating that broadcasting must commence within eleven months of the time of this Act entering into force, and that MTV2 shall use both the current and the new transmission facilities for a period of one month. During the transition period, Magyar Televízió shall broadcast two programs throughout.
(5) Duna Televízió shall broadcast public service programming through a satellite system.
Section 133.
(1) The rights conferred in this Act upon public service broadcasters shall be awarded for seven years in the case of radio broadcasting and for ten years in the case of television broadcasting. Upon expiry of the term of validity of the rights they can be extended several times, without any alteration, for the same amount of time, if the international restrictions relating to the broadcast transmission facilities in question, the provisions contained in the National Frequency Band Distribution Chart or the obligations of coverage have not changed. If the rights cannot be extended, the public service broadcaster shall be provided with rights relating to another broadcasting facility suitable for meeting its obligation of coverage.
(2) In respect of the national terrestrial television and radio broadcasting rights, following the termination of such entitlements, the Board shall review the system of national broadcasting services with regard to the opinion of the boards of trustees, and shall decide as to whether to retain the existing rights of public service broadcasters or to alter them.
(3) The broadcast transmission facilities - identified by frequency and broadcasting features - necessary for public service broadcasters to discharge their obligations of broadcasting shall be established by the Board following preliminary discussions subject to the provisions on voting and publicity pertaining to its decision-making mechanism.
(4) The preliminary discussion mentioned in Subsections (2) and (3) shall be conducted by the Board with the representatives of the National Communications Authority, the public service broadcasters affected, and the telecommunications service provider providing transmission services.
(5) Subsections (2) and (3) shall not apply to the broadcast transmission facilities of the radio broadcasting services of a public service broadcaster directed to foreign audiences. For the purposes of such broadcasting, the rights relating to frequency use shall be provided by the National Communications Authority within the framework of an international procedure.
Section 134.
(1) A public service broadcaster may apply before 1 January 2000 for further broadcast transmission facilities, in addition to the facilities realized through the broadcast transmission conferred under this Act, under the proceedings defined in Chapter VI only if unable to fulfill its responsibility conferred in Paragraph c) of Subsection (4) of Section 23 by other means.
(2) The provisions contained in Subsections (1)-(3) and (5) of Section 122 shall not apply to public service broadcasters and the restriction set out in Subsection (1) of Section 123 shall apply if the public service broadcasters obtain broadcasting rights also by way of tender.
(3) A public service broadcaster may also provide local and regional broadcasting services.
CHAPTER X
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Title 1
Penalties
Section 135.
(1) In the event of unauthorized broadcasting, or program distribution or broadcast retransmission operations conducted without or in deviation from the notification as prescribed in this Act, the Board may impose a fine upon the offender corresponding to double the proceeds obtained unlawfully, or if this cannot be established, in an amount between ten thousand forints and one million forints, which is payable to the Fund.
(2) For any infringement of Section 5/D or of Section 5/E, the Board may impose a fine, as payable to the Fund, between ten thousand forints and one million forints upon the person notified or on the person bearing responsibility under legislation governing the printed media.
Title 2
Administrative Proceedings Conducted by the Board
Section 136.
(1) In the application of Subsection (3) of Section 41, Titles 12 and 13 of Chapter VI and Section 135, and for the purposes of enforcement of the legal ramifications set out in Subsection (3) of Section 90 and in the broadcasting contracts, the Board shall function as an administrative agency under the provisions of the Act on the General Rules of Administrative Proceedings and Services.
(2) The Board's resolutions may not be appealed through administrative channels.
(3) The court may be requested to review the resolutions of the Board. The court shall proceed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XX of the CPC. The court may alter the decision of the Board. An appeal lodged under Paragraph f) of Subsection (1) of Section 112 shall be heard by the Budapest High Court of Appeal; it shall adopt a decision within thirty days following the deadline prescribed for filing. The resolution adopted by the Budapest High Court of Appeal may not be appealed.
Section 136/A.
(1) For the purposes of enforcement of Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the Board, instead of adopting a resolution ordering the cessation of intra-Community infringements, may enter into an administrative agreement with a client who agrees to cease the infringement, and to engage in conduct in conformity with the legal provisions on the transposition of Articles 10-21 of Council Directive 89/552/EEC, last amended by Directive 97/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, in accordance with the administrative agreement.
(2) The Board shall post a notice concerning the administrative agreement concluded under Subsection (1) on its official website and, if necessary, in the official journal of the ministry directed by the minister in charge of cultural affairs. The notice shall specify:
a) the name of the Board;
b) the name and address of the infringing broadcaster;
c) the case number and the subject matter;
d) the fact that the agreement was concluded for reasons of public policy;
e) the essence of the commitment phrased in a language that is easy to understand; and
f) an indication that the administrative agreement is available for inspection at the Board.
Title 3
Extraordinary Situations
Section 137.
During a state of distress, state of emergency or state of extreme danger, or in the event of the unforeseen invasion of the territory of Hungary by foreign armed bodies, or in connection with operations for the protection of the nation's territory by air defense and air forces of the Hungarian Army, Parliament, the Defense Council, the President of the Republic and the Government, as well as the persons and organizations defined in the Act adopted on the basis of Articles 19/D and 19/E and Subsection (3) of Section 35 of the Constitution may order the broadcaster to the extent necessary to transmit, free of charge, any public service announcements in connection with the existing state of affairs or situation in the prescribed form and at the time, or may prohibit transmission/broadcasting. When effecting the public broadcast, the source shall be clearly identified.
Title 4
Broadcasts of Parliament Sessions
Section 138.
(1) A closed circuit television system shall be set up for broadcasting the entirety of Parliament sessions, public parliamentary committee hearings dealing with appointments and nominations, and, as necessary, the meetings of the parliamentary committees, within one year of the time of this Act entering into force.
(2) The signal emitted from the closed circuit system shall be made available to all broadcasters. The costs of joining the system shall be covered by the broadcaster.
(3) The provisions contained in Subsections (1) and (2) shall not affect the right of any broadcaster to transmit or record broadcasts on line from the place designated for that purpose in the Parliament building.
(4) A recorded copy of the outgoing signal that is made available to all shall be deposited in the Parliament Library and in the National Széchenyi Library. The Parliament Library shall provide for the accessibility of the recorded material and shall prepare a copy for a fee that may be freely used by anybody. A copy each shall also be deposited in the archives of the Magyar Televízió and the Magyar Rádió (sound recordings).
(5) The broadcasting rules providing for the impartiality of broadcasting of the activities of Parliament shall be defined as an appendix to the House Rules of Parliament within one year of the time of this Act entering into force.
(6) A national broadcaster that is engaged solely in the complete presentation of the activity of Parliament on a regular basis, including related analysis, shall be treated as a broadcaster of public programming under this Act.
(7) The general managers of public service broadcasters shall, within their competence defined in Paragraph a) of Section 71, lay down the rules for the continuous broadcasting of parliamentary sessions.
(8) Up until the transformation of public service broadcasters into private limited companies, the order of parliamentary broadcasts in force at the time of this Act entering into force shall remain in effect unchanged.
CHAPTER XI
CLOSING PROVISIONS
Title 1
Entry into Force
Section 139.
(1) Section 142 of this Act shall enter into force on upon promulgation; its other provisions shall enter into force on the first day of the month following promulgation subject to the exceptions set out in Subsections (2)-(4).
(2) Subsection (1) of Section 75, Sections 79-84 and Section 162 shall enter into force on 1 January 1997.
(3) Paragraph p) of Section 161 shall enter into force upon the foundation of the Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió private limited companies.
(4)
Title 2
Establishment of the Board and the Public Foundations
Section 140.
(1) Within forty-five days of the promulgation of this Act:
a) the members of the Board shall be elected;
b) the members of the bureaus of the boards of trustees shall be elected.
(2) The notice referred to in Subsection (2) of Section 57 shall be published for the first time within sixty days of the time of this Act entering into force. The deadline for application is twenty days from the date of publication. The Government shall provide for the administrative and supervisory duties related to registration until the official bodies of the Board are established. The drawing defined in Subsection (5) of Section 57 shall be held for the first time within twenty days following the deadline for the submission of applications for registration.
(3) The bureaus of the boards of trustees shall publish notices for inviting applications for the position of general managers of the public service broadcasters within thirty days of their election. The deadline for the submission of applications is thirty days, and the applications shall be assessed within thirty days.
(4) At the time of the election of the bureaus of the boards of trustees, Parliament shall approve the charter documents of the public foundations, which will come into existence when registered by the court of registry. In the registration procedure Parliament shall be represented by its Secretary General.
(5) The term of the current board of trustees of the Hungária Televízió Public Foundation shall end upon the election of the bureau of the new board of trustees. The new board of trustees, with the delegated members among it ranks, shall amend the charter document of Duna Televízió Rt. within sixty days of establishment, in accordance with this Act.
(6) The list of the names of the members of the Board, the bureaus of the boards of trustees and the delegated members shall be published in the Official Hungarian Gazette (Magyar Közlöny).
Title 3
Foundation of Magyar Rádió Private Limited Company and Magyar Televízió Private Limited Company
Section 141.
(1) The Government shall take inventory and evaluate the assets of the Magyar Rádió and the Magyar Televízió within six month's time of this Act entering into force. These assets shall be transferred to the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation and the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation on the day as of which the public foundations found the private limited companies. The private limited companies shall be established with retroactive effect to the date defined in the charter document, as of the date of registration in the companies register.
(2) Magyar Rádió Private Limited Company is the general successor of the Magyar Rádió, a publicly financed body, and Magyar Televízió Private Limited Company is the general successor of the Magyar Televízió, a publicly financed body. In this respect, Subsection (2) of Section 251 of the Companies Act shall not apply.
(3) The acquisition of assets and the foundation of companies by the public foundations in accordance with this Act shall be exempt from the payment of all taxes and duties.
(4) The bank accounts of Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió shall be kept open for reasons of legal continuity, and in the real estate register the title of ownership of the state-owned properties concerned shall be transferred to the name of the Private Limited Company concerned, ex officio, indicating the interim acquisition of assets by the public foundations.
(5) Public service broadcasters shall be exempt from corporate tax liability and shall be granted exemption from duties.
(6) Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió shall cease to exist as publicly financed bodies effective as of the day defined in Subsection (1).
(7) With due regard to what is contained in Subsection (2), the Government shall initiate the amendment of the Budget Act for 1996 so as to avoid any interruption in the regular payment of budgetary subsidies for 1996 to Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió due to their transformation into private limited companies. In this process, the subsidies of Duna Televízió shall be increased, the source of which may be the redistribution of the revenues obtained from the television set subscription fees. The bill for the amendment of the Budget Act shall also provide for the funds to cover the operating expenses of the Board and the boards of trustees of the public foundations from the revenues from subscription fees.
(8) Four fifths of the attending members of the committee of Parliament competent in budgetary matters may propose the appointment of a parliamentary ombudsman to Magyar Rádió or Magyar Televízió for the period of transition. The responsibility of the parliamentary ombudsman shall include to countersign the legal statements made by the general manager (deputy general manager) of Magyar Rádió or Magyar Televízió, in accordance with Section 142 of this Act. Without such countersigning the legal statements shall be invalid.
(9) In the absence of the parliamentary ombudsman defined in Subsection (8), the bureau of the board of trustees of the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation and the bureau of the board of trustees of the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation shall exercise the powers specified in Paragraphs c) and da)-dc) of Subsection (2) of Section 66 of this Act as of the date of establishment, and accordingly, the general managers of Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió shall proceed in accordance with the obligations defined in Paragraphs g) and h) of Section 71 of this Act.
Section 142.
The term in office of the general managers and deputy general managers of Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió, as well as of the members of the board of directors and the director general of Duna Televízió Private Limited Company, shall terminate upon the taking office of the general managers elected in accordance with this. Following the promulgation of this Act, the general managers in office (the board of directors and director general of Duna Televízió Private Limited Company) shall be authorized to take the measures necessary in connection with ongoing operations. They are not entitled to alienate real estate, and to conclude contracts for a term of more than one year or for a value exceeding five percent of the total expenditures in the annual financial plan, or for the transfer of exclusive use of advertising rights, other than those falling in the sphere of normal business operations. Furthermore, they are not entitled to cut staff to the extent defined in Sections 22-23 of Act IV of 1991, or to amend the organizational and operational regulations in force within their own competence.
Section 143.
(1) The public service relationship of the employees of Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió shall be converted into an employment relationship simultaneously with the foundation of Magyar Rádió Rt. and Magyar Televízió Rt. The length of time served by the employees at Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió in the status of public servants shall be deemed as if served in the employment of the private limited company. The executive officer and management appointments awarded prior to the change in legal relationships shall be regarded as withdrawn as of the date of change in the legal relationships pursuant to Subsection (5) of Section 23 of Act XXXIII of 1992 on the Legal Status of Public Servants (hereinafter referred to as "PSA").
(2) By way of derogation from the provisions contained in Subsection (1), for the purposes of the period of notice and severance pay the amount of time served with Magyar Rádió Rt. and Magyar Televízió Rt. shall be reckoned from the date of converting the public servant legal relationship into an employment relationship. The period of exemption and the rate of the severance pay calculated on the basis of the term of the previous public servant legal relationship, in accordance with the provisions of the PSA in effect at the date of the changing of the legal relationship, shall be added to the term of notice and the rate of the severance pay.
(3) In respect of any claims arising from the public servant legal relationship prior to the conversion referred to in Subsection (1), the provisions of the PSA in force at the time of the inception of the claims shall apply, while in respect of the enforcement of such claims, the provisions of Act XXII of 1992 on the Labor Code shall apply. The statement (measure) or agreement related to the termination of the public servant legal relationship shall be assessed on the basis of the provisions of PSA in force at the date of the statement or at the date of the conclusion of the agreement.
(4) In connection with the conversion of the public servant legal relationship of the employees of Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió into an employment relationship the provisions of Section 25/A of the PSA shall not apply.
(5) Disciplinary proceedings in progress and labor disputes related to the employer's decision adopted in a disciplinary action, other than those defined in Subsection (6), shall be terminated.
(6) Any labor dispute concerned with dismissal on a disciplinary basis shall be adjudged according to the provisions on extraordinary notice.
(7) The execution of disciplinary sanctions imposed for a definite period of time shall be terminated.
(8) The Public Servants' Council of Magyar Rádió and the Public Servants' Council of Magyar Televízió shall continue to operate as work councils.
Section 144.
(1) The broadcasting performed by Magyar Rádió at the time of this Act entering into force may be continued in accordance with the general conditions defined in Chapter II of this Act until the person acquiring the broadcasting rights in respect of the frequency used for broadcasting before the time of this Act entering into force in a tender procedure under this Act commences to broadcast.
(2) The provisions pertaining to the limitation of advertising time and the provisions relating to the sponsorship of programs shall not apply to Magyar Rádió, Magyar Televízió and Duna Televízió before 1 September 1997 and 31 December 1996, respectively.
(3) Subsection (2) of Section 84 is to be applied as per the following between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 1997:
Forty per cent of usage charges, less collection costs, received by the Fund under any title shall be allocated to the Magyar Televízió Private Limited Company, while twenty-eight percent shall be allocated to the Magyar Rádió Private Limited Company and twenty-four percent to the Duna Televízió Private Limited Company through the owner of the public foundation, one percent for the operating costs of the Board, and another one percent - divided equally - for the operating costs of the Magyar Rádió Public Foundation, the Magyar Televízió Public Foundation and the Hungária Televízió Public Foundation, and finally six percent shall be applied toward the tenders to be published for supporting public service programs.
(4) The current Organizational and Operational Regulations of Magyar Rádió and Magyar Televízió shall apply before the organizational and operational regulations and the terms and conditions of public service broadcasting approved in accordance with this Act, take effect.
Section 145.
Two of the three 66.0-73.0 MHz frequency bands used for the transmission of the broadcasts of Magyar Rádió at the time of the entry into force of this Act may be used for a maximum period of three years reckoned from the time of this Act entering into force, while the third 66.0-73.0 frequency band may be used for a period of eleven years. Within this time limit, the Board may withdraw two rights relating to the use of the 66.0-73.0 MHz frequency band from Magyar Rádió if two broadcasting services are realized in the 87.5-108. MHz frequency band.
Title 4
Miscellaneous Provisions
Section 146.
(1) The holders of studio licenses issued prior to the time of this Act entering into force for a fixed period may apply to the Board for the transformation of their licenses into broadcasting contracts by 31 March 1996. Failure to observe this deadline shall result in the forfeiture of the right and the license shall be considered withdrawn. The Board may not conclude a contract with the applicant if the studio does not perform broadcasting or does not perform broadcasting in compliance with the studio license. The studio license shall be withdrawn by resolution of the Board.
(2) The Board shall conclude the contract with the applicant for the term of the studio license defined in the original license and in respect of the area of reception defined therein, establishing the broadcasting fee, if the applicant operates in accordance with the provisions contained in the studio license.
(3) The Board shall invite a tender in respect of the frequency (transmission time) released through the withdrawal of a studio license, except if the broadcaster refuses to consent under Subsection (3) of Section 100.
(4) Tenders shall be invited in respect of the utilization in accordance with this Act of the frequencies used on the basis of the studio licenses issued prior to the time of this Act entering into force for an indefinite period of time or with reference to the time limit defined in this Act. The Board shall invite tenders in respect of the frequencies used on the basis of studio licenses issued with reference to the time limit defined in this Act within nine months, while in respect of the frequencies used on the basis of studio licenses issued for an indefinite period of time after one year, but within one-and-a-half years, at the most. These deadlines shall be reckoned as of the time of this Act entering into force. The studio licenses shall terminate at the date of the commencement of broadcasting services provided on the basis of the broadcasting contract concluded on the basis of the tender, at the latest.
(5) In the tenders defined in Subsections (3)-(4), the former operation of the person entitled to broadcast on the basis of the studio license on the same frequency shall be given priority in the course of the assessment process.
(6) The Board may conclude contracts with the companies existing at the time of this Act entering into force without complying with the provisions contained in Sections 85-88, Section 108 and Chapter VIII of this Act, subject to the condition to alter their activity or transform their companies by 31 December 1996.
Section 147.
(1) The provisions contained in Sections 20 and 21 shall not affect the activity of the telecommunications service provider already providing value-added services prior to the time of this Act entering into force.
(2) Network television broadcasting services, other than those provided within an area not greater than fifty kilometers in diameter, may not be commenced prior to 1 January 1997.
(3) The restriction defined in Subsection (2) shall not apply to any broadcaster that is engaged in operations on a regular basis and providing services within the framework of network broadcasting in accordance with this Act, and which:
a) commenced its operation one year prior to the time of this Act entering into force; and
b) provides network broadcasting for a maximum daily transmission time of four hours.
The area of reception of the broadcaster acquiring rights as explained above may not be greater prior to 1 January 1997 than that three months prior to the time of this Act entering into force.
Section 148.
(1) The Government is hereby authorized to decree the system of the collection of usage charges and the detailed regulations for selecting the organization to be appointed for collection, including the provisions of Subsection (2) of Section 82.
(2) Within thirty days of the time of this Act entering into force, the Government shall provide for:
a) the taking of the measures necessary for the implementation of the European Convention concerning "Transfrontier Television" in Hungary;
b)
(3) The Government is hereby authorized to adopt a decree or standard concerning the technical conditions of joining a network.
(4) The Board is hereby authorized to define the terms of Hungarian-produced programs. The Board shall publish its opinion on the issue in the Official Hungarian Gazette (Magyar Közlöny) prior to inviting the tenders in respect of the national broadcasting rights, and may not alter the contents thereof following publication.
Section 149.
(1) The Government is hereby authorized to decree the drawing up of the technical conditions and requirements for radio and television broadcasting, following consultation with the Board.
(2)
Title 5
Sections 150-160.
Title 6
Repeals
Section 161.
Simultaneously with this Act entering into force the following shall be repealed:
a) in Subsections (2) and (3) of Section 2 of Act II of 1986 (hereinafter referred to as "Press Act") the passage "and shall encourage social action"; in Subsection (1) of Section 4 of the Press Act the passage "economic organizations [Paragraph c) of Section 685 of the Civil Code]"; Section 9 of the Press Act and from the title preceding Section 12 the passage "Licensing"; Section 13 and Subsection (2) of Section 14 of the Press Act; in Subsection (1) of Section 14 and in Section 15 of the Press Act the passage "the refusal and withdrawal of licenses"; Subsection (2) of Section 17 and Subsections (4)-(6) of Section 19 of the Press Act; in Subsection (3) of Section 22 the passage "or withdrawing the license", and Subsections (2) and (3) of Section 23 of the Press Act;
b) of Act XI of 1990 on the Amendment of Act II of 1986 on the Press, in Section 6 of the passage establishing Subsection (2) of Section 14 of the Press Act, and in Sections 6 and 7 the passage "the refusal and withdrawal of licenses", and Sections 8 and 9;
c)
d) Section 7 of Act III of 1994 on the Amendment of Act XXXIV of 1989 on the Election of Members of Parliament;
e)
f)-p)
Section 162.
Title 7
Compliance with the Acquis
Section 163.
(1) This Act serves the purpose of conformity with the following legislation of the Communities:
a) Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities;
b) Directive 97/36/EC of 30 June 1997 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3 October 1989 on the coordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities;
c) Directive 98/27/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on injunctions for the protection of consumers' interests, Article 2 (1) and Article 4 (1) [Subsections (2)-(4) of Section 112/A relating to the proceedings of the Board];
d) Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorization of electronic communications networks and services, Article 3 (1);
e) Commission Directive 2002/77/EC of 16 September 2002 on competition in the markets for electronic communications networks and services, Article 2 (3);
f) Directive 2003/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products, Article 4 (2) and Article 7 [Point 44 of Section 2, Paragraph b) of Subsection (1) of Section 19 and Subsection (1) of Section 112/A].
(2) This Act contains provisions for the implementation of the legislation of the Communities in connection with the duties and proceedings of the Board:
a) Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws, Article 4 (1) and (6) e) [Subsection (3) of Section 41, and Section 136/A];
b) Commission Decision 2007/76/EC of 22 December 2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws as regards mutual assistance [Subsection (4) of Section 41].
Schedule to Act I of 1996
Before taking office, members of the Board shall take the following oath before the Speaker of Parliament:
I, .................................., do solemnly swear that as a member (chairman) of the National Radio and Television Board I shall observe the Constitution and the laws, and shall, true to my office, endeavor to enforce the freedom of speech and press. I shall fulfill my responsibilities impartially.
