|
|
| |
|
Law N# 96-659 26 jully 1996
© Secretary of State for industry - France Art. 9.For chapter III of title I of book II of the Posts and Telecommunications Code there shall be substituted chapter V which shall be amended as follows: I - Articles L. 39 and L. 39-1 shall be worded as follows: "Art. L. 39. "Any person found guilty of one of the violations below shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of six months and to a fine of 500 000 French francs: "1) - to establish or to have established a public network, without the licence provided for in article L. 33-1, or to continue the operation of such a network in breach of a decision to suspend or withdraw the said licence; "2) - to provide or have provided a public telephone service without the licence referred to in article L. 34-1 or in breach of a decision to suspend or withdraw the said licence. "Art. L. 39-1 "Any person found guilty of one of the violations described below shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of six months and to a fine of 200 000 French francs: "1) to establish or have established an independent network, without the licence provided for in article L. 33-2, or to continue the operation of such a network in breach of a decision to suspend or withdraw the said licence;
II - Article L. 39-2 shall be worded as follows:
III - Article L. 39-3 shall be repealed. "Article L. 39-4 - Any person who, without valid reason, refuses to supply information or documents or who obstructs an inquiry as provided for in article L. 32-4 and L. 40 shall be liable to imprisonment for three months or to a fine of between 2 000 and 200 000 French francs. Article L. 39-5 - In the event of a repeated violation the penalties set out in articles L.39 to L.39-4 may be doubled." IV - If a person is found guilty of violating one of the provision of articles L. 39 and L. 39-1, the Court may order the confiscation or the destruction, at the expense of the guilty party, of the materials and facilities which formed the network or enabled the operation of a service and may bar the said party from applying for a licence, as provided for in sections one and two of chapter II of this title for a maximum of two years, as laid down in articles L.33-1 and L. 34-1. V - "Article 40. "In addition to the police officers acting in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code, civil servants and officials of the telecommunications administration, the telecommunications regulatory authority and the national radio frequency agency with special authority from the telecommunications minister, and put under oath in a manner set out in a State Council decree, may investigate and report the offences referred to in chapter III of this title in accordance with enforcement legislation. "The telecommunications officials described above shall enjoy free access to professional premises, property and vehicles used by persons subject to article 32-4 above, by those manufacturing, importing or selling equipment or devices described in article 34-9 or by those using radio frequencies as described in article 89, in order to investigate and report the offences, demand the surrender of all types of professional documents, make copies of these and gather all the information and evidence required either by summons or at the place of investigation. The officials shall have access to these premises only during opening hours if they are open to the public, and in other cases, only between 8am and 8pm. They shall not have access to the premises also used as a domicile by the parties concerned. "The officials referred to in the first paragraph shall inform the public prosecutor of the planned investigations of offences. He may oppose these operations. Reports on the investigation shall be submitted to him within five days following their issue. A copy shall be delivered to the concerned party. "The officials of the telecommunications administration described in clause V may seize all types of equipment described in article 34-9 above, in the same locations and under the same conditions as those set out in the same clause, if they hold judicial licence issued by order of the President of the High Court or by the Judge delegated by him with jurisdiction over the area in question. "Requests for the aforementioned judicial licence shall be accompanied by all the information required to justify the seizure of the equipment. Seizure shall be carried out under the authority and control of the aforementioned judge. "Seized equipment shall be immediately stocklisted. Stocklists shall be appended to the statement issued on the premises. Originals of the statements and the stocklists shall be sent to the judge who ordered the seizure within 5 days.
Art. 10.Title II of book II of the Posts and Telecommunications Code shall be entitled "The establishment of telecomunications networks". Art. 11.Chapter I of title II of book II of the Posts and Telecommunications Code shall be entitled "Rights of way and servitudes" and shall be amended as follows: I - For articles L. 45-1, L. 46, L. 47, L. 47-1 and L. 48 there shall be substituted four articles worded as follows: "Art. L. 45-1. "Operators licensed under article L. 33-1 shall enjoy rights of way on carriageways in the public domain and easements on the private properties referred to in article L. 48, under the conditions set out below. "Authorities which lease or manage the public domain, with the exception of carriageways, shall conclude conventions to provide access to their property with parties licensed in application of article L. 33-1 in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner and insofar as such occupation is not incompatible with the purpose of the property or with available capacity. The convention giving access to the public domain with the exception of carriageways may not contain provisions relative to the commercial operating conditions. A fee may be payable to the leaseholder or manager of the public domain concerned in conformity with the principle of equality between operators. These fees shall be reasonable and proportionate to the use of the domain. "The installation of infrastructures and equipment must be carried out in respect of the environment and the aesthetic quality of the site, and with the least damage to private property and the public domain. "Art. L. 46. "Operators licensed to establish public networks may occupy the public highway by erecting structures, insofar as such occupation is not incompatible with the purpose of the highway. "The work required to establish and maintain networks shall be carried out in accordance with the highway regulations, and, in particular, with the provisions of article L.115-1 of the Highways Code. "Art. L. 47. "The occupation of public carriageways shall require a highway permission, issued by the relevant authority, according to the type of highway used, under the conditions set out in the Highways Code. The permission may define the installation and operating specifications necessary for the requirements of public traffic and preservation of the highway. "The authority referred to in the paragraph above shall take all measures necessary to enable universal service obligations to be fulfilled. It may only refuse rights of way to licensed operators on the grounds of ensuring, within its jurisdiction, compliance with the essential requirements. "If an operator may be given a right of way, under the same conditions as a licensed occupation, through the use of the facilities of another occupant of the public domain, the authority referred to in the first paragraph may invite the two parties to come to an agreement on the shared use of these facilities. In this case, the owner of the facilities used by the licensed operator shall maintain the infrastructure and equipment needed installed in the premises under his responsibility, in return for the payment of a contribution set after negotiation with the operator. The telecommunications regulatory authority may be called upon to settle any dispute, in accordance with the conditions set forth in article L. 36-8. "The highway permission may not contain provisions relating to the commercial operating conditions. In return for occupation of the public domain fees shall be payable to the local authorities in conformity with the principle of equality between operators. "A State Council decree shall determine the terms of application of this article and in particular shall specify the ceiling payable for the above-mentioned fee. "Article L. 48. "The easement referred to in article L.45-1 shall be created in order to allow the installation and operation of network infrastructures both in the communal parts of appartment buildings and estates, and above and below the ground of undeveloped sites. "Creation of an easement shall be subordinated to a licence issued on behalf of the Government by the mayor, after the owners, or in the case of co-ownership, the householders' association, have been informed of the reasons for creating the easement and the choice of location, and have been invited to make their observations on the project, within a minimum period of three months. Work may only begin after the expiry of this period. In the event of a dispute, the terms of creation of the easement shall be determined by the president of the High Court. "If it is ascertained that all the benefits relating to the easement of the operator on a private property may be guaranteed by using the facilities already installed on the same property by another easement holder and the use of these facilities would not compromise, where appropriate, the public service mission of the easement holder, the authority concerned mentioned in the first paragraph may invite the two parties to come to an agreement on the technical and financial terms for sharing the facilities concerned. In this case, the owner of the facilities used by the licensed operator shall, within the limits of the contract concluded between the parties, maintain the facilities for which he is responsible, in return for the payment of a contribution negotiated with the operator. The telecommunications regulatory authority may be called on tosettle any dispute between the operators under the conditions set forth in article L. 36-8. "The installation of the structures described in the first paragraph may not interfere with the right of the owners or co-owners to demolish, repair, alter or enclose their property. However, the owners or co-owners must inform the beneficiary of the easement before carrying out any work which could affect the buildings, at least three months beforehand. "If employees of the licensed operators require to enter the private property defined in the first paragraph in order to study, establish or operate the facilities, they shall be authorised to do so, in the absence of an amicable agreement, by the president of the High Court sitting in chambers, who shall ensure that the presence of such agents is necessary. "The beneficiary of the easement shall be responsible for all damage resulting from the network equipment. It shall be required to pay for all direct, unquestionable material damages caused by the installation and maintenance work and by the operation of such structures. Failing an amicable agreement, compensation shall be determined by the court with jurisdiction in matters of expropriation on the application of the contending party.
II - Articles L. 49 to L. 52 shall be repealed. III - In article L. 53, for the word "prefectorial" there shall be substituted the words "relevant authority".
|