1. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
THE HUNGARIAN ADVERTISING SELF REGULATORY BOARD
ETHICAL AD HOC COMMITTEE
RULES OF PROCEDURE

2. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
THE HUNGARIAN ADVERTISING SELF REGULATORY BOARD
ETHICAL AD HOC COMMITTEE
RULES OF PROCEDURE
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL REGULATIONS
§1
(1) The Ethical Ad Hoc Committee of the Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board
(hereinafter the Committee) shall initiate proceedings in case of a breach of the Hungarian
Code of Advertising Ethics (hereinafter the Code).
(2) On request, the Committee shall deliver an opinion on the interpretation of the Code for
specific cases.
§2
The provisions of these Rules shall be applied to the proceedings of the Committee.
§3
(1) These Rules shall apply to the members of the Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board
(hereinafter the ÖRT) and any non-member who submit the application to the Committee for
redress of a complaint or for copy advice.
(2) The ORT supports the members committed to ethical advertising to include a jurisdiction clause
in their contracts concerning the making, publishing and ordering of advertisements. This clause
expands the jurisdiction of ÖRT to the non member contractual parties.
§4
(1) The Committee shall only proceed in response to an application for it to do so.
(2) The proceedings of the Committee under paragraph 1.§ (1) and the decision under paragraph 1.§
(2) are free of charge for the members of ÖRT.
(3) The proceedings of the Committee are with the exclusion of the public.
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3. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
CHAPTER II
THE PROCEEDING COMMITTEE
§5
(1) The Committee shall be appointed by the Secretary General of ÖRT within five days of
receiving the application.
(2) The Committee shall consist of the Chairman and at least four members.
(3) The Chairman of the Board shall act as its chairman.
(4) The Committee shall be composed of:
a) at least one expert from the advertising service group of the Board’s expert list,
b) at least one expert from the media of the Board’s expert list,
c) at least one expert from the advertisers group of the Board’s expert list.
d) a legal expert appointed by the Chairman.
e) minimum 2 experts from the expert list of ÖRT. The expert list is approved by the
Board of ÖRT.
(3) The Committee shall be appointed by the Secretary General so as the Committee must be
appointed in such a way that its members are in possession of the appropriate expertise in the
given subject.
§6
(1) The following persons may not be members of the proceeding Committee:
a) the complainant and the party complained against, and any person bearing an authorisation
from or a commitment to these,
b) the representative of a person covered by a), or a former representative, if he has proceeded
in the case,
c) a relative of a person covered by a) or b),
d) a person who involved in the case as a witness or expert,
e) a person who for some other reason is not likely to judge the case objectively.
(2) The term “relative” as used in (1) shall embrace direct forebears and descendants and their
spouses, adoptive and foster parents, adoptive and foster children, spouse, brothers or sisters,
cohabitee, fiancé or fiancée, direct forebears and descendants of the spouse, spouses of brothers
or sisters, and former spouses.
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4. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
§7
(1) A declaration of any reason for exclusion shall be made by the individual in question to the
Chairman of ÖRT. The complainant and the party complained against may both make
reference to the reason for exclusion.
(2) In any case of exclusion, the Chairman of ÖRT shall decide on exclusion within three days,
and shall immediately, if necessary, appoint a new member of the Committee.
CHAPTER III
INSTIGATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS
§8
A person shall be entitled to submit a complaint to the Committee if:
a) his rights or rightful interests have been violated by an action that breaches the Code,
b) he is a member of the Steering Committee of ÖRT,
c) requires an interpretation as set out under § 1, (2).
§9
(1) The complaint shall contain:
a) the name and seat (name and address) of the complainant company,
b) the name and address of the representative,
c) the interests that are considered to have been breached,
d) the description of the action objected to, the facts constituting the basis of this description
and a description of the proofs of these facts,
e) the dates when the breach commenced and was recognised, and the probable reasons
thereof,
f) a request that the Committee decide on the issue.
(2) The complaint under § 8. b) shall provide, apart of the complainant’s name, the information
required under (1) d)-f).
(3) Consumer complaints shall be submitted solely in writing, preferably using the on-line form
available on the web site of the ORT (www.ort.hu).
(4) Any competitor may submit his complaint and the annexes thereof by using the form available on
the home page of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board, in writing or through E-mail, at his own
discretion.
(5) In case of a complaint submitted through E-mail if a written form is prescribed by these rules of
procedure, the performance through E-mail may also be accepted.
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5. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
§ 10
(1) The complaint must be made within 15 days of the date when the breach commenced.
(2) If the complainant became aware of the breach of rules later than this, or the submission of the
complaint was impeded, then the 15 day period shall commence from the date when the breach
came into the complainant's knowledge, or when the impedance to the complaint ceased.
(3) No complaint may be submitted more than three months after the commencement of the breach.
The circumstance whether the deadline is missed is considered by the Committee upon request.
The lateness of the complaint does not impede the process and decision when the complained
conduct is continuous or the violation of norms is heavy. The Committee decides this issue in
its final decision or by rejecting the complaint because of its lateness.
(4) The complaint shall be submitted in writing to the Secretariat of the Board, addressed to the
Committee.
CHAPTER IV
FIRST-LEVEL PROCEDURE
§ 11
(1) The Secretary General of ÖRT shall take the following actions according to the complaint
received:
a) if the matter is found to fall outside the responsibility of the Committee, it shall reject the
complaint,
b) if the submitted complaint is formally deficient, it shall call upon the complainant to make
good the deficiency within five days, with the warning that if the submission again is
formally deficient, or is not satisfactorily made good, the complaint may be rejected,
c) The Secretary General of ÖRT gives notice of the complaint to the party complained
against within 3 days.
d) In case of a consumer complaint the Secretary General of ÖRT calls the party complained
to give substantive response to the complaint within 5 days. The personal data of the
complaint shall be protected.
c) In case of competitive complaint following a valid complaint, as described under § 8 a),
ask the party complained against to reach an agreement with the complainant within five
days, with the result of this to be submitted to the Committee; or to present its substantive
response to the Committee.
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6. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
(2) The Secretary General of the ÖRT shall set a date for a hearing within 15 days, inform the
parties of this date, and therewith inform them that failure to attend at the hearing or not
presenting substantive response shall not impede the making of a decision.
§ 12
(1) At the hearing the Committee shall examines the advertisement, question the parties and
examine the evidence submitted.
(2) Evidence may be anything that demonstrates any fact before the Committee. The Committee
hears the witnesses and expertise if necessary.
(3) The parties may make comments on the submissions of the opposite party at any stage of the
hearing.
(4) The Committee investigate the advertisement primarily on the base of the evidences presented
by the parties, but can gather further evidences if necessary. The parties in a mutual agreement
have the opportunity to choose an impartial expert, in this case the parties have to agree on the
payment of its fee. The parties failing to agree the fee of the expert is on the complained party if
the Committee upheld the complaint and on the complaining party if the Committee rejects the
complaint. The parties equally split the fee if the Committee approves their agreement. And the
fee is split proportionally if the Committee partially upheld the complaint.
(5) The Committee shall close the hearing after the submissions of the parties and make its
judgement. Where there is especially good reason for so doing, a hearing may be postponed,
once and for a maximum of 10 days.
§ 13
(1) In its closing judgement, the Committee shall
a) if the party complained against modified or withdrawn the advertisement and commits itself
not to use it again the procedure can be terminated.
b) in case of an agreement by the parties on a competitor complaint the Committee approves
the settlement.
c) reject an unfounded complaint,
d) uphold a justified complaint, and identify the norms that have been breached, indicating
which provisions of the Code have been breached,
e) as necessary, oblige the party complained against to change the advertisement in breach of
the norms,
f) as necessary, oblige the party complained against to change the media of the advertisement,
g) as necessary, oblige the party complained against to desist from the activity in breach of the
norms and to restore the original condition,
h) as necessary calls the advertiser (publisher or agency) to comply with its decision
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7. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
i) as necessary, calls the publishing media to deny or terminate publishing the advertisement
breaching the code
j) publishes the decision,
k) as necessary the Committee publishes the facts obstructing the enforcement of its decision
(2) The reasoning behind the closing judgement of the Committee must be given in writing,
making reference to the evidence which was accepted and that which was set aside, indicating
the reasons for both.
(3) The judgement of the Committee shall be regarded as passed when it has been delivered. The
Committee also delivers its decision to the parties by short notice (e-mail or by phone).
CHAPTER V
APPEAL
§ 14
(1) If rules of procedure have been breached, the parties may appeal against the judgement of the
Committee.
(2) The appeal shall be submitted to the Secretariat of the Board, addressed to the Chairman of
ÖRT, within 8 days from the date of the short notice. The appeal deadline is final.
§ 15
(1) An appeal shall be judged by the Chairman of ÖRT with two legal experts, within 8 days
following the appeal deadline.
(2) The Chairman shall
a) reject an unfounded appeal,
b) uphold a justified appeal, and identify the fault in the proceedings,
c) where there has been a serious breach of the rules of procedure, order new Committee
proceedings to be conducted.
CHAPTER VI
COPY ADVICE
§ 16
The copy advice is handled by the Secretariat of the Board or ÖRT and the Ad Hoc Committee
(hereinafter referred to as: Committee) as follows:
(1) The Secretariat of The Board scrutinize the applications received
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8. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
a) The permanent members of the Committee shall decide if the application is to be submitted
to the Committee.
b) In case of an unanimous decision of the permanent members they are to prepare the final
decision.
c) In case of a non unanimous decision of the permanent members the Secretariat submits the
application to the Committee.
(2) The Committee with its reasoned decision decides if the advertisement in question:
a) breaches an ethical norm
b) does not breach any norm
c) a final decision cannot be made upon the application, in this case the Committee informs the
applicant about the obstacles
(3) The Committee shall issue a declaration of opinion under §1 (2), within 15 days of receiving a
valid application. In exceptional cases, this deadline may be extended, once and for a maximum
8 days.
(4) All the members of the Board are bound to keep the confidentiality rules.
(5) The Committee is bound to its final decision in any subsequent procedure according to 1.§ (1) –
provided the given facts are unchanged. The final decision made in the copy advice procedure
can be issued in any subsequent procedure.
(6) The members of the Committee are as follows:
a) permanent members: the Secretary General of ÖRT and an independent legal expert
b) non permanent members: one member of advertising service, one of the publishing media
and one of the advertisers group, all members of the Committee have to be independent and
no competitors to the applicant or advertise related of the case.
CHAPTER VII
MIXED AND INTERPRETATIVE PROVISIONS
§ 17
(1) In general a day is to be interpreted as a calendar day. If the date of a deadline falls on a
weekend or holiday, the deadline shall be the following working day.
(2) A serious breach of norm shall be the failure to act on the final judgement of the Committee, or
whatever the proceeding committee designates as such after considering all the circumstances
of the case.
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9. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
Chapter VIII
APPLICATION OF THE SPECIAL RULES PERTAINING TO THE CO-REGULATION
§ 18
(1) These rules of procedure shall not apply to the procedures initiated within the framework of the
co-regulation, in such cases any action shall be based on the special rules of procedure forming an
annex to the administrative contract concluded with the Media Council.
(2) Any issue not provided for in the administrative contract concluded with the Media Council
shall be governed by the rules relating to the grievance procedure.
§ 19
(1) In case of a complaint received within the framework of the co-regulation the general secretary
of ÖRT shall take actions in order that such a complaint will be handled separately from self-
regulation, and then he shall proceed in accordance with the rules of procedure forming the annex of
the administrative contract concluded with the Media Council.
(2) Any complaint received within the framework of the co-regulation as well as all the printed and
electronic documents produced in the course of proceedings shall be separated. As for the separation
it is essential that the documents which came into being within the frame of the co-regulation should
be kept physically separated by observance of special filing order and such documents should also
be stored separately.
(3) If it is impossible to decide whether a complaint has been made and submitted within the
framework of the co-regulation or the self-regulation, the general secretary of ÖRT shall request the
complainant to make a declaration concerning the issue.
(4) If it is uncertain whether a complaint has been received within the framework of the co-
regulation or not, it shall be considered as other than received within the framework of the co-
regulation, and hereinafter the rules of procedure pertaining to the self-regulation shall apply.
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10. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE ETHICAL AD HOC COMMITTEE OF THE
ADVERTISING SELF-REGULATORY BOARD
Annex 1
Rules of procedure to enforce the rules of competition law
The Advertising Self Regulatory Board is a professional organization composed of member
companies. It has several members competing with each other either in respect of the horizontal
competition (manufacturers or distributors of interchangeable products) or in terms of the vertical
competition (operating at the different levels of the same commercial chain).
§1
General rules
(1) The rules of the competition law should be observed in all formal and informal proceedings and
events of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board, especially in the proceedings before the Ad
Hoc Committee. Consequently, any agreement or concerted practice that might prevent, restrict
or distort competition shall be forbidden in particular.
(2) Participation in the proceedings and events of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board shall be
voluntary, and none of the member companies may be at a disadvantage if they fail or do not
intend to participate in these.
(3) It shall be forbidden to share or discuss sensitive business information with competitors; such
information shall be in particular:
a. Price information, for instance current, invoiced or settled prices or pricing policy or
anything that relates to costs, discounts or refunds;
b. Promotional agreements or activities;
c. Production volumes and capacities;
d. Details of trade agreements;
e. Product or business plans;
f. Private information relating to suppliers and customers, for instance, which customer the
members trade with, the terms under which such trade is carried on and what kinds of
negotiations the members enter into.
g. Non-public market share figures
h. Non-public sales figures (related to quantity and value)
(4) All proceedings of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board shall be conducted in the presence of
some member thereof. Each member of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board and any
representative acting on behalf of a member shall be obliged to keep the sensitive business
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11. The Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board Ethical Ad Hoc Committee Rules of Procedure
information pertaining to the activity of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board that has come to
his knowledge confidential.
(5) Minutes shall be taken on all the proceedings of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board, and
such minutes shall include the fact that information has been provided on these rules of
procedure.
(6) If any member present or concerned believes that an activity has unacceptable contents, the
proceedings or activity of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board shall be suspended upon the
request of the member until a legal expert’s opinion has been obtained. The justification of the
request should be included in the application to an extent required for the obtainment of the
legal opinion. No application may be rejected.
§2
Special rules pertaining to Ex Ante Control
(1) All the members of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board, including both permanent and
occasional experts, shall be bound to keep the sensitive business information pertaining to the
activity of the Advertising Self Regulatory Board that has come to his knowledge confidential..
(2) No person related to a competitor concerned in the case may be the member of the Board;
consequently each member shall make a declaration on the issue in the light of the agenda. The
fact making such declarations shall be recorded in the minutes.
(3) Any member affected by the conflict of interests shall be excluded from the debate of the
particular agenda item.
§3
Rules pertaining to the rules of procedure of the Ethic Ad Hoc Committee
Both the applicant and the requested or any member present may explicitly request that the
information which he has disclosed to the Board is not shared with the other party and/or a
competitor. Such a request shall not require any justification, and accordingly, the Board shall deal
with the information in the absence of the other party and/or the competitor.
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