Hungarian Government statement


The chairperson of the convergent Italian authority AGCOM is appointed, in conjunction with the Minister for Communication and the competent parliamentary committee, by the decree of the President of the Republic based on the Prime Minister's recommendation. 89

country experts

Marco Bellezza (PhD) is an expert in European media law, internet law and intellectual property law. He graduated cum laude at the Faculty of Law of University of Bari 'Aldo Moro' in 2005, and holds a PhD in private law from the University of Bari. In addition to his academic work, he has been a practicing attorney in media and communications law at a national law firm in Italy since 2009. He is member of the editorial board of the journal medialaws.eu and president of the Apulian Centre for Intellectual Property, a research center associated with the University of Bari. He recently completed a study on the implementation of EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive at the Institute of European and Comparative Law at the University of Oxford.

Oreste Pollicino (PhD) is an associate professor of comparative public law in the Department of Law at Bocconi University in Milan. His research areas include European and comparative constitutional Law, media law, and Internet law. He is the editor of International Journal of Communications Law and Policy, and a member of the editorial board of Diritto Pubblico comparato ed europeo, Panoctica, Revista Eletrônica Acadêmica de Direito, and medialaws.eu.

ITALY


Expert assessment

This statement regarding the appointment procedures for AGCOM's president is accurate but omits the appointment procedures for the remaining members of this body. AGCOM's president is appointed by decree of the president of the Republic acting on advice of the prime minister and in agreement with the minister of communications, and after hearing the opinions of the competent parliamentary commissions.90 AGCOM's Council, the main decision-making organ, is composed of eight commissioners and a president, each appointed for seven-year terms, non-renewable. Commissioners are elected by the senate and the chamber of representatives, respectively, and appointed by the president of the Republic.91

The Communications Regulatory Authority (Autorità per le garanzie nelle comunicazioni - "AGCOM") was established as an independent regulatory authority in 1997 by the Maccanico Law, which aimed to reform pervasive market concentration issues in Italian broadcasting. 92 AGCOM was created in response for the need to establish an independent regulatory body to govern Italy's media and communications sectors, which since the 1970s had been politically controlled.93 As Italy's "convergent" regulatory authority, AGCOM exercises its regulatory competencies in all media sectors: the press, online press, broadcasting, telecommunications and electronic communications. However it should be noted that AGCOM's authority over traditional print and online press extend to handling registration requirements only, and it has no content-related authority over these media.

AGCOM is accountable to Parliament, which establishes its powers, defines its statutes, and as noted, elects its members. AGCOM is composed of the following bodies: the President, the Commission for Infrastructure and Networks, the Commission for Services and Products, and the Council.94 The Commission for Infrastructure and Networks and Commission for Services and Products are each composed of four commissioners. Each parliamentary chamber elects four members of each commission. The Council is compromised of the president and all (eight) commissioners. All the bodies are chaired by the AGCOM's president. In case of death, resignation or incapacitation of a commissioner, the competent chamber elects a new commissioner who holds office until the ordinary expiration of the mandate of other commissioners. Members cannot be removed by the government, and can only be substituted only in case of death, resignation or impediment.

The selection process for AGCOM's members is the same as that used to elect members of all administrative authorities in Italy.95 According to the law, AGCOM members must qualified experts in the field.96 The cited law also includes a series of conflict-of-interest statues meant to ensure the independence and impartiality of its members—prohibiting, for example, AGCOM members from working in the communications sector for four years after the end of their mandate.97

Because members of AGCOM are elected by Parliament, AGCOM's composition often and inevitably reflects the composition of the Italian Parliament—which can be seen as a drawback of this type of appointment system, as the Council often mirrors the majority-minority coalitions of the current parliamentary composition.98 Even with multiple formal legal "checks" in place partisan, its members having clear political affiliations, which has fueled concerns regarding the Council's political biases and independence.99 In addition, the prime minister in practice exerts much influence over the selection of AGCOM's president, which can compromise that member's independence in cases when the president is required to cast a deciding vote.100 But is important to note that because the mandate for AGCOM members is seven years and the mandate of Parliament is five, the composition of AGCOM does not reflect necessarily the parliament majority in office. This system allows AGCOM to have a certain independence from attempts by lawmakers to control AGCOM through its appointments. (However, this system has not safeguarded AGCOM from direct influence by public officials. In March 2010, Prime Minister Berlusconi was put under investigation for allegedly pressuring an AGCOM Council member to "shut down" a talk radio show critical of the government. The board member reportedly offered to prepare a formal complaint.101)

It is also important to note that AGCOM is not the sole authority responsible for regulating the media in Italy. The Ministry of Economic Development's Department of Communications plays an important role in the preparation of legislative proposals and policy guidelines, and also carries out administrative functions related to media sector, such as licensing and frequencies allocation. The Antitrust Authority (AGCM) works in cooperation with AGCOM to supervise the commercial telecommunications market. The Parliamentary Commission on Radio-Television Services supervises the pluralism of the media, specifically with regards to the "par condicio" for coverage allotted to political parties during elections for Italy's public service broadcaster, RAI.


89 "Reply to the criticisms expressed by the international media against the Media Act," Ministry Of Public Administration And Justice, January 3, 2011, available at: http://www.kormany.hu/en/ministry-of-public-administration-and-justice/news/reply-to-the-criticism-of-the-international-media.
90 Pursuant to Article 3 of the Maccanico Law (Law No. 249/1997), in Italian at: http://www2.agcom.it/L_naz/L_249.htm.
91 Pursuant to Article 3 of the Maccanico Law (Law No. 249/1997), in Italian at: http://www2.agcom.it/L_naz/L_249.htm.
92 Maccanico Law (Law No. 249/1997), in Italian at: http://www2.agcom.it/L_naz/L_249.htm.
93 The Maccanico Law (Law No. 249/1997) was adopted in July 1997 after the Corte Costituzionale (Constitutional Court) ruled that the antitrust provisions in the 1990 Broadcast Law (Law No 223/1990) were inadequate to ensure media pluralism. The Maccanico Law created the Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) and introduced new restrictions on concentration national broadcast television. See: lex.europa.eu
94 See Agcom's structure, available in English at: http://www2.agcom.it/eng/reports_docs/resp_reg.htm.
95 Law 481/1995, "Norms governing competition and the regulation of public utilities. The institution of regulatory bodies for public utilities," available in Italian at: http://www.autorita.energia.it/it/inglese/about/legge_istitutiva.htm.
96 Law 481/1995, Article 2(8)(9)(10)(11), available in Italian at: http://www.autorita.energia.it/it/inglese/about/legge_istitutiva.htm.
97 Maccanico Law, (Law No. 249/1997) Article 1(5) with reference to Law 481/1995, Art. 2(8)(9)(10)(11), available in Italian at: http://www.autorita.energia.it/it/inglese/about/legge_istitutiva.htm.
98 Television across Europe: Regulation, Policy and Independence (Italy), EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP), Network Media Program (NMP), Open Society Institute (2005), p. 888; available at: http://www.decesare.info/OSI%20Rapporto%20Italia%20.pdf.
99 Television across Europe: Regulation, Policy and Independence (Italy), EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP), Network Media Program (NMP), Open Society Institute (2005), p. 889; available at: http://www.decesare.info/OSI%20Rapporto%20Italia%20.pdf.
100 For an analysis of AGCOM's appointment procedures, see Television across Europe: Regulation, Policy and Independence (Italy), EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program (EUMAP), Network Media Program (NMP), Open Society Institute (2005), pp. 887-891; available at: http://www.decesare.info/OSI%20Rapporto%20Italia%20.pdf.
101 "Berlusconi in probe over TV talk shows," Reuters, March 15, 2010, http://uk.reuters.com/article/2010/03/15/oukoe-uk-italy-berlusconi-tv-idUKTRE62E5JV20100315.