The Board of Directors is the day-to-day decision-making organ of the Agency: it resolves disputes, decides objections arising from non-inclusion in the list, and takes the sanction decisions.

Composition — Art. 10

(Amended: 5/2/1979 – Decree-Law 23/1; accepted as amended: 14/6/1984-3022/1) — The Board of Directors of the Agency consists of 6 members to be elected by the General Assembly from among its own members, together with the Director General. Two of the members are elected from among the representatives written in sub-paragraph (a) of Article 5, two from those in sub-paragraph (b), and two from those in sub-paragraph (c).

ElementContent
Total6 elected members + the Director General
From sub-paragraph (a)2 members — press representatives
From sub-paragraph (b)2 members — representatives of the President
From sub-paragraph (c)2 members — university and institutional representatives
Decision quorum4 affirmative votes
ChairExclusively one of the members coming from sub-paragraph (b)
Term2 years; a person whose term expires may be re-elected

The Brokerage Prohibition

Those elected to the Board of Directors may not act as advertising brokers, nor may they take any post in any brokerage undertaking or participate in one in any way. We covered brokerage in what announcement and advertising brokerage is.

Vacancies

In the event of a vacancy for any reason, an election is held to fill the place at the first general assembly to be held under Article 6. The person newly elected completes the term of the member who left.

Duties — Art. 11

  • 1. To perform the duties of the Agency
  • 2. To draw up the allocation balance sheets of the Agency, to submit them for the approval of the General Assembly and to ensure their application
  • 3. To report to the General Assembly on its own activity and on the accounts, and to supervise the execution of the decisions of the General Assembly
  • 4. To perform the other duties given to it by this Law

Powers in Other Provisions of the Law

PowerProvision
To resolve a dispute as to whether an announcement is to be regarded as officialArt. 30/1
To refer the matter to the General Assembly for a principle decisionArt. 30/2
To decide disputes arising from non-inclusion in the list within 1 weekArt. 37/2
To resolve disputes between the governorships / the Directorate General and periodicals or those giving announcementsArt. 38
To decide on the closure of a brokerage undertaking for a period not exceeding 2 monthsArt. 49/b
To prepare the other fee tariffArt. 25
To spend the administrative expensesArt. 28
To approve the appointments of officials and employeesArt. 12

Powers Arising from the Regulation

The Official Announcements and Advertisements Regulation also gives the Board of Directors numerous powers:

  • To determine the procedures and principles in administrative divisions and mergers (Art. 31/2)
  • To determine the procedures and principles concerning the technical rules for internet news sites (Art. 52/2)
  • To draw up a separate quota and distribution table for the General Category (Art. 77/2)
  • To determine the independent audit body (Art. 61/8)
  • To determine the candidate journalist members of the inspection boards (Art. 93/1)
  • To withhold the benefit of the announcement-into-news additional indicator for a period not exceeding 2 months (Art. 68/3)
  • To withhold the right in content-based sanctions (Art. 114/1)
  • To determine the procedures and principles of electronic inspection (Art. 92/6)

Objection to a Decision

An objection to a decision of the Directorate General is made to the Board of Directors within 10 working days (Regulation Art. 115). We covered the detail in how to object to decisions of the Directorate General.

Conclusion

The Board of Directors consists of 6 members elected by the General Assembly from among its own members (2 from each sub-paragraph) together with the Director General. Four affirmative votes are required for it to take a decision, and the Chair is elected exclusively from among the members coming from sub-paragraph (b). The members may not act as advertising brokers. Its duties are to perform the duties of the Agency, to draw up the allocation balance sheets, to report to the General Assembly and to supervise the execution of the General Assembly’s decisions.