The Nigerien Minister for Communication, New Technologies, Information, and Culture, Mrs. Takoubakoye Amina Boureima, announced at the 3rd African Telecommunications Union plenipotentiary conference in Brazzaville, on September 26, 2010, that her country would implement a system for the regulation of international telecommunications similar to the Congolese system.
FRENCH
Fiche Thématique (Télécommunications): la Républque du Niger a annoncé la mise en place d'un système de régulation des télécommunications en suivant le modèle mis en place par la République Démocratique du Congo.
Le ministre de la Communication, des Nouvelles Technologies, de l'Information et de la Culture du Niger, Mme Takoubakoye Amina Boureima, a annoncé, au cours de la 3e conférence plénipotentiaire des télécommunications de l'Union Africaine à Brazzaville, le 26 septembre 2010, que son pays allait mettre en place un système de régulation des communications internationales similaire à celui du Congo.
GERMAN
Thematischer Bericht (Telekom): die Republik Niger wird ein Regulierungssystem für Telekommunikation in Anlehnung am kongolesischen Modell einführen.
Die Ministerin für Kommunikation, Neue Technologien, Information und Kultur der Republik Niger, Frau Takoubakoye Amina Boureima, hat am 26. September 2010, im Lauf der 3. Telekomkonferenz der Afrikanischen Union in Brazzaville, den Wille ihrer Land verkündigt, ein Regulierungssystem für Telekommunikation in Anlehnung am kongolesischen Modell einzuführen.
SPANISH
La República de Níger ha anunciado que implementará sistemas regulatorias de telecomunicaciones siguiendo el modelo establecido por la República del Congo.
El Ministro Nigerino de Comunicación, Nuevas Tecnologías, Información y Cultura, la Señora Amina Boureima, anunció en el 3er conferencia plenipotenciaria de la Unión africana de telecomunicaciones en Brazzaville el 26 de septiembre el 2010, que su país implementaría un sistema para la regulación de telecomunicaciones internacionales similar al que se encuentra en el sistema congolesa.
In Senegal, the Autorité de régulation des télécommunications et des postes (ARTP ; English translation: Telecommunications and Posts Regulatory Authority) has, just like all regulators, inherent powers to impose sanctions. In general, the important thing is not only to exercise this sanctioning power but to exercise it in a way that reinforces the authority of the Regulator. In this perspective, the new Sonatel sanction decision is important.
As a sanctions always carry a heavier weight when people are made aware of it, the Director General of the Artp issued a press release, that has been flagged as particularly important, and held a press conference (in French) on a particularly serious sanction imposed following what the Regulator considers as the non-fulfilment of obligations stemming from formal notices (which, by the way, the telecom operator challenges on the merits).
On 21 November 2014 indeed, the Sonatel was given a formal notice from the Artp to respect consumer rights. As the code of telecommunications provides since its modification in 2014, operators shall "prendre les mesures appropriées de dimensionnement de leurs réseaux de nature à garantir à leurs clients un accès ininterrompu à leur service client commercial ou technique en respectant un taux d’efficacité minimal" (translation: "take appropriate measures to size their networks in a way that provides their consumers with an uninterrupted access to their customer service (sales service and technical support) which would respect a minimum efficiency rate") set by the Regulator itself- as to, namely, ensure that the right of consumers to be informed is satisfied (as regards billing mechanisms) and that their calls to consumer services remain free of charge. As the Regulator estimated that the Sonatel was not complying with such regulations, it conducted a formal investigation and notified a statement of objections to the operator, before sending on 28 January 2015 a second formal notice for the same reasons.
On 14 July 2016, the Regulator imposed a sanction on Sonatel since the it still estimated that the operator's behavior still was not leading to a compliant situation as regards the consumer right to be informed. The sanction, as stated in the Sonatel decision, is 13 billion 959 million FCfa (c. €20m), i.e., 15% of Sonatel's 2015 turnover. The sanction decision also provides that if the operator does not enforce it, an additional penalty of 10m FCfa (c. €15,000) per day will be charged.
The operator, however, challenges this sanction insofar as it estimates that its behavior is not to be blamed. To support its claim, Sonatel avails itself from the fact that upon reception of the first formal notice, it undertook a 'progressive compliance' with the requirements process as regards its network, then let the Regulator know about it, etc. It is henceforth to lodge an appeal.
The issue at stake, therefore, is to know whether the obligations on operators are obligations regarding the means used (that is to say, means obligations), or, conversely, if they are obligations to produce results (performance obligations). If they are means obligations, then the operator is right. However, considering the efficiency and effectivity principes that are closely linked with the teleological nature of Regulation, it is more likely that such obligations are performance obligations.
For instance, in France, the Commission Informatiques et Libertés (French Data Protection Authority- CNIL) considered on 1 March 2016!footnote-42 that the obligations on operators to have accurate and complete data are performance obligations and not mere means obligations.
Thus, there is probably more to follow with this Sonatel decision. The day the press release was issued, the operator stated it intended to lodge a hierarchical appeal before the Minister.
The next day, the Director General of the Artp stated in the press (in French) that under the Senegal law, the appeal could only be lodged before a jurisdiction, or before... the Regulatory Authority itself (request for reconsideration - in French : "recours gracieux").
This situation is thus a great reminder that new illustrations of the interplays between Regulation and Politics can always be found.
The statutory audit forms part of the way in which stakeholders in companies obtain reliable financial information, thereby contributing to the efficient working of an open economy. In fact, the statutory audit is above all a matter of confidence. By opining on the reliability and the fairness of financial statements, statutory auditors add confidence to for-profit and not-for-profit relationships, and equally throughout the economy and to society in general.
PORTUGUESE
Artigo (Finanças): Um obstáculo para o desenvolvimento e a emergência de empresas de auditoria de envergadura internacional?
A auditoria legal faz parte do modo segundo o qual os interessados nas empresas (“Stakeholders”) obtêm informação financeira confiável, contribuindo para o funcionamento eficiente de uma economia aberta. Com efeito, a auditoria legal é, acima de tudo, uma questão de confiança. Através da opinião sobre a confiabilidade e a justeza de posições financeiras, auditores legais dão confiança para relações dirigidas ao lucro e relações não dirigidas ao lucro, e também para a economia e a sociedade em geral.
Artikel (Finanzen): Ein Hindernis für die Entstehung und Entwicklung von internationalen Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaften?
Die gesetzliche Wirtschaftsprüfung ist eine Quelle verlässlicher finanzieller Informationen für privatwirtschaftliche Interessenvertreter und trägt dadurch zur effizienten Funktionsweise der offenen Marktwirtschaft bei. Gesetzliche Wirtschaftsprüfung ist eine vor allem eine Sache des Vertrauens. Durch die Einschätzung von Verlässlichkeit und Fairness von Finanzberichten, tragen gesetzliche Wirtschaftsprüfer zum Aufbau einer Vertrauensbasis von profitorientierten und nicht-profitorientierten Beziehungen, sowie ganz allgemein für Vertrauen in der Wirtschaft und der Gesellschaft bei.
The paper suggests that the neo-realistic theory of Regulation encompasses both regulatory legal rules as well as an authoritarian supervisory monitoring of their application by market participants. Further, supervision should not merely encompass microeconomic supervision but rather integrate that financial market’s interconnectedness (finance, banking and insurance) entails a reform of its current architecture, in order to preserve from market failures the system as a whole. Regulation is transversal and should not be understood as sector-specific but rather as a governance mechanism for whole systems.
FRENCH
Quand régulation rime avec supervision: l'exemple de la nouvelle architecture de supervision européenne
L'article suggère que la théorie néo-réaliste de la régulation inclut à la fois les règles légales régulatoires ainsi que la supervision autoritaire de leur application par les acteurs du marché. De plus, la supervision ne doit pas comprendre uniquement la supervision microéconomique, mais doit plutôt intégrer que l'interconnectivité propre aux marchés financiers (finance, banque et assurance) suppose une réforme de son architecture actuelle afin de prémunir le système dans son ensemble des défaillances de marché. La régulation est transversale et ne devrait pas être comprise comme spécifique à un secteur, mais comme un mécanisme de gouvernance pour le système dans son ensemble.
GERMAN
Wenn Regulierung mit Überwachung reimt: das Beispiel der neuen europäischen Überwachungsarchitecktur.
Dieser Artikel deutet an, dass die neo-realistische Theorie der Regulierung beide die juristischen Regeln der Regulierung sowie die autoritärische Überwachung ihrer Anwendung integriert. Ausserdem soll unter dem Begriff Überwachung nicht nur die mikroökonomische Überwachung verstanden werden, aber auch die Verbindungen zwischen Finanzmärkte (Finanz, Bank, Versicherung), was eigentlich die Reform der heutigen Architektur bedeuten soll, um dem System von Märtkeversagen zu schützen. Die Regulierung ist transversal, und soll nicht nur mit Hinweis auf dem Sektor verstanden werden, sondern als ein Mechanismus für die Führung des Systems im breiten Sinne.
SPANISH
Cuando la Regulación rima con la supervisión: el ejemplo de la arquitectura de la nueva estructura de supervisión.
Este informe sugiera que la teoría neo-realística de la Regulación abarca tanto las reglas legales regulatorias como la supervisión autoritaria monitoreada de su aplicación por los participantes en el marcado. Además, la supervisión no debería solamente abarcar la supervisión microeconómica, sino que también debería integrar la naturaleza interconectada del mercado (financiera, bancaria y de seguros) lo cual requeriría de reformas de su arquitectura actual para poder preservarse de los fallos de mercado del sistema en general. La regulación es transversal y no debería conocerse como sector-específico sino como un mecanismo de gobierno para sistemas enteros.
ITALIAN
Articolo: Quando regolazione fa rima con supervisione: l’esempio della nuova organizzazione europea di supervisione.
L’articolo suggerisce che la teoria neorealista della regolazione racchiude sia norme legali di regolazione che una supervisione della loro applicazione da parte degli operatori del mercato. Inoltre, la supervisione non dovrebbe semplicemente includere una supervisione microeconomica quanto piuttosto introdurre un’interconnessione (finanza, banca e assicurazioni) del mercato finanziario, cosa che implica una riforma dell’organizzazione attuale, al fine di proteggere il sistema nel suo complesso da un mancato funzionamento del mercato. La regolazione é trasversale e non dovrebbe essere intesa come un meccanismo di settore ma piuttosto come un meccanismo globale di governance.
In the United Kingdom, the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, by noting the wrongdoing of the scandal of the Breast implants PIP and the clumsy way in which this type of scandal, alarming the population, had been resolved by health authorities, has commissioned a study in January 2012 to analyse this crisis and learn from it behavior lessons for similar crises. On May 14, 2012, the report was published. This report advised the regulator, when it is faced with this type of crisis, to expand its sources of medical information before making provisions, that it didn't do sufficiently. The regulator must also communicate as much as possible with the victims on the one hand (first circle) and the public (second circle) to give information, reassure and encourage good medical behavior.
