CONSCIOUS also that the increasing use r:I Information and Communicaflon Technology (lCT) may be prejudicial to the private and professional life of the use~; NOTING that, notwithstanding the existence of the national legislations relating to the protection of privacy of the citizens in their pr!vate and professional life and relating to the guarantee of the free movement of information, it becomes a matter of urgency to fill the legal vacuum generated by the use of internet which is a new instrument of communication; CONSCIOUS of the necessity to fill this legal vacuum and establish a harmonised legel framework in the process of pe~onal data; DESIROUS of adopflng this Supplementary Act on the protection of personal data: AFTER THE OPINION of The ECOWAS Perliament deted 23 May 2009; ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Sixty-third Ordinary Session of the CounCil of Ministers held at Abuja from from 20 to 21 November 2009; HEREBY AGREE AS FOL.L.OWS: CHAPTER I GENERAL. PROVISIONS Article 1: Definitions For the purposes of this Supplementary Act: Authority of Protection The data protection authority Shall be an independent administrative authority responsible for ensuring that personal data is processed in compliance with the provisions of this Supplementary Act; Code of conduct refe~ to the data-use charte~ drafted by the data conlloller in order 10 institute the rightful use of IT resources, the Ir'lternet, and electronic communications of the structure concerned, and which have been approved by the data protection Authority; Consent of the data subject is any manifestation of specific, unequivocal, free, informed and express will by which the data subject or his legal, judicial or agreed representative accepts that his personal data be processed either manually or electronically; -2 -