New Law of Electronic Communications reaches the Parliament

At the website of the Assembleia da República, on Draft Law 94/lX/2http://www.parlamento.pt/ActividadeParlamentar/Paginas/DetalheIniciativa.aspx?BID=19867, you may consult the draft law which, in the scope of the process of transposition of the directives that comprise the new regulatory framework of electronic communications, grants the Government the authorization to establish the regime of judicial review of actions of the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), the regime concerning the strengthening of the disciplinary framework and the use of public domain and respective taxes, as well as to repeal the present Basic Telecommunications Law (Law no. 91/97 of 1 August). This draft law presents in annex the decree-law that establishes the legal regime applicable to electronic communications networks and services as well as to the related resources and services, defining also the powers of the national regulatory authority within this context.

This draft law, presented by the Government, will be discussed at the Assembleia da República on 22 October. On this day will also be discussed the draft law that transposes to the national legal order the Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector.

The new regulatory framework, known as the ?99 Review?, comprises, along with the mentioned Directive 2002/58/EC, a set of Directives, all of which of the European Parliament and of the Council, and approved on 7 March 2002: Directive 2002/21/EC (on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services - Framework Directive), Directive 2002/19/EC (on access to, and interconnection of, electronic communications networks and associated facilities -Access Directive), Directive 2002/20/EC (on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services - Authorisation Directive), and Directive 2002/22/EC (on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services - Universal Service Directive). This package is further complemented by the Commission Directive 2002/77/EC of 16 September 2002 (on competition in the markets for electronic communications networks and services).

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