Myanmar: Broadcasting Law • • • • • (i) broadcasting, (ii) telecommunications, (iii) law, (iv) business management and finance (v) consumers’ protection and citizens’ rights education, culture and social development. 8. No one shall be appointed to the Council if he or she: (a) Holds an elective or paid position in a political party; (b) Holds a position in a government formed committee or commission; (c) Holds a position, receives salary from or has directly or indirectly, significant financial interests in mass media; (d) Has been convicted, after due process in accordance with legal principles, of a crime of dishonesty or theft; (e) is legally decided as a mentally disabled person; (f) civil service personnel; 9. The process of nominating and appointing council members shall be open and transparent; professional and civil society organizations shall be encouraged to participate in the nomination process. 10. To organize the council, the President, speaker of Pyithu Hluttaw and speaker of Amyotha Hluttaw shall nominate six candidates each, total 18 candidates. 11. The names of nominees shall be published by the authority in advance and the public shall be invited to give feedback on the competence, moral character, and professional standards of these nominees. 12. The President shall appoint the nine Council members out of the nominated members with the regard from public feedback. 13. The Council members shall elect among themselves their own chairperson, vicechairperson and secretary via secret voting. 14. The Council shall exercise the following powers: (a) preparing the necessary policies rules and regulations of this law, for the development of broadcast industry, after the conduct of series of consultation; (b) allowing licenses to the appropriate ones among the applicants after scrutinizing their license proposals; (c) publishing and adopting the broadcasting codes of conduct and rules and procedures; (d) imposing administrative sanctions against a broadcast institution, which after due process, has been found guilty of violating the broadcasting law including rules and procedures adopted by the Council; (e) suspending and revoking after due process the license of a broadcast company for violation of its license subject to appeal to an appropriate court; (f) imposing such fees and charges as may be necessary to cover reasonable costs and expenses for the regulation and supervision of the operations of broadcast institutions; (g) recognizing broadcast institutions and programmes which have earned public appreciation for quality services; (h) coordinating with the Authority, relevant government departments, civil service organizations and academic societies to create an environment for a free and fair competition in the broadcast industry; (i) assisting for the human resource development of professionalism in the broadcast industry; ARTICLE 19 – Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3GA – www.article19.org – +44 20 7324 2500 Page 19 of 30