Cinematographic Spectacles Regulations

The National Cinematographic Censorship Board is hereby created, hereinafter to be referred to as T.N.C., as a technical body that reports directly to the Secretariat of Governance and Justice, whose primary mission is to guide and regulate cinematographic exhibition in the country, with the purpose of adapting its content to the spectators, to prevent vices and violence that destroy morality and good customs from exerting influence. In this sense, it falls to the T.N.C. to authorize, classify, and control cinematographic material in all its forms, in accordance with the norms contained in this Regulation.

Cinematographic material shall be understood to mean filmed works, documentaries, promotional trailers, their copies in audiovisual magnetic tapes or video-cassettes, audiovisual discs, audiovisual diskettes, etc. This concept shall also include all written or printed material of cinematographic materials used for advertising purposes.

To fulfill its purposes, the T.N.C. shall have broad powers to reject and prohibit films that promote or propagate doctrines or ideas contrary to the fundamental bases of country and nationality; those that are contrary to public order and those that induce the imitation of antisocial and criminal actions.

The T.N.C. shall be composed of representatives from the State Secretariats, Armed Forces, and U.N.A.H., on an ad-honorem basis.

The T.N.C. shall be constituted by: a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Pro-Secretary.

The T.N.C. shall meet once a month to establish the general guidelines of its provisions, study problems inherent to its work, examine the material in question, and issue its resolutions. The President shall convene extraordinary sessions when necessary.

The powers and duties of the T.N.C. shall be:

• a)

  To classify, grant, and prohibit authorization for the exhibition of cinematographic films.

• b)

  To communicate to the Secretariat of State in the Office of Governance and Justice any violations that may occur.

• c)

  To maintain a registry of censored films and keep the respective authorities of the country informed.

• d)

  To impose the sanctions and fines authorized by this Regulation.

• e)

  To authorize the exhibition of films with the recommendations, observations, and restrictions of the case.

• f)

  For purposes of compliance with the provisions, resolutions, instructions, and norms of this Regulation, the T.N.C. may request the collaboration of the Public Security Force.

• g)

  To maintain close relations with the departmental Political Governors and Municipal authorities throughout the country to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

The T.N.C., at the request of the Political Governors, shall authorize the creation of Departmental Commissions for the surveillance of Cinematographic Exhibitions to ensure compliance with the provisions issued by the Tribunal. CHAPTER II OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF CINEMATOGRAPHIC FILMS

The authorization, classification, and control of films and cinematographic material shall be the responsibility of the T.N.C., in accordance with the norms established by this Regulation.

No business enterprise, institution, or social club shall commercially use any cinematographic material or film that has not been previously examined, classified, and authorized by the T.N.C.

Businesses, institutions, and social clubs interested in projecting cinematographic material or films shall submit a written application to the T.N.C., specifying the time, place, and date of the projection for its evaluation and respective classification. The T.N.C. shall receive applications the week preceding their evaluation and classification, and shall consider the following aspects which shall be incorporated into the opinion form:

• a)

  Title of the film in Spanish.

• b)

  The title of the film in the language of origin.

• c)

  Country of origin.

• d)

  Name of the distributing company.

• e)

  Name of the production company.

• f)

  Format (70 mm, video-cassettes, etc.).

• g)

  Duration in minutes.

• h)

  Number of reels.

• i)

  Whether it is the original version with subtitles or dubbed.

• j)

  Genre that the film addresses.

• k)

  Place, date, and time for the evaluation and classification of the cinematographic material or film. Cinematographic material or film that has not been requested with due advance notice shall not be evaluated. Verbal applications shall have no validity.

Censored films shall be subject to the following classification scale: CLASS A) Authorized for all audiences. B) Authorized only for persons over 15 years of age. C) Authorized for persons over 18 years of age. (X) Authorized for persons over 21 years of age. (XX) Authorized for persons over 21 years of age, nighttime exhibition. (XXX) Prohibited from exhibition throughout the country.

The resolutions of the T.N.C. with respect to the censorship and classification of cinematographic material or films shall not be subject to controversy among persons outside the Tribunal; they may only intervene to provide illustrative explanations when the Tribunal requests it.

Any provision issued by the Secretariat of Governance and Justice at the request of the T.N.C. with respect to the commercialization of cinematographic material shall be obligatorily complied with by the distributing, exhibiting, and rental companies.

Notices, advertisements, and announcements on radio, in the press, and on television shall present the classification that, according to the T.N.C., is established based on the scale set forth in Article 12 above.

The businessman or distributor shall be directly responsible for violations incurred due to disrespect for or non-compliance with the provisions issued by the T.N.C. The T.N.C. must immediately communicate to the Secretariat of Governance and Justice the provisions issued for censored films in order that the provisions thereof are complied with.

The T.N.C., in order to issue its provisions, shall base itself on the analytical examination of films, documents, and other cinematographic material that businessmen must place at its disposal. CHAPTER III OF CINEMAS OR EXHIBITION HALLS

All cinematographic material must be in perfect working condition. It shall not have defects in image or sound, nor any physical damage.

The projection equipment shall always operate in perfect conditions and shall receive efficient and constant maintenance. It shall be protected to prevent it from emitting noise that causes disturbances or inconvenience to spectators. This equipment shall project clear and uniform light and the sound system shall operate at moderate volume levels without distortions. The attachments of the sound and image equipment for special projections shall always be adjusted with absolute precision. The screen shall not have stains, tears, or holes.

All equipment, furniture, decorations, acoustic and projection systems of the cinema halls shall receive frequent and adequate maintenance and cleaning. Halls shall be fumigated every four months.

Sanitary facilities must comply with all necessary hygienic provisions. Sanitary implements or accessories shall be maintained in perfect conditions and the lighting inside shall be permanent.

The selection of music between functions shall be chosen based on its pleasant and relaxing effect transmitted at moderate volume. Every ninety days the administrators of cinema halls shall report to the Cinematographic Censorship Tribunal the change in musical programming.

According to the climatic season, air conditioning and heating services shall operate efficiently; any defect shall be reported to the T.N.C. for purposes of its knowledge.

Cinema hall businessmen must mandatorily have personnel in charge of seating the public, monitoring compliance with safety measures, and maintaining order and decorum.

The content of the material to be used in previews, filler content, and background programs must be in harmony with the classification and provisions issued by the T.N.C.

The T.N.C. shall ensure compliance with emergency measures and risk prevention such as:

• a)

  Emergency exit mechanisms and their physical distribution.

• b)

  The use and availability of fire extinguishers.

• c)

  The existence of obstacles or physical impediments that prevent rapid evacuation.

• d)

  The recommendations and provisions issued by the Fire Department.

When the T.N.C. or one of its members orders the suspension of a function, the company shall reimburse the public the price of the admission ticket.

The suspension of functions does not relieve companies of the payment of fines and the imposition of other sanctions when the case warrants it.

The personnel of exhibition halls shall demand the documentation that proves the age of spectators when it concerns functions with age restrictions. For functions for adults or for those over 18 years old, the Identity Card shall be required.

Educational institutions and other organizations or entities that schedule film exhibitions for fund-raising purposes must present to the exhibition company the authorization from their immediate superior authority, with the exhibitor being subject to the provisions issued by the T.N.C.

The number of persons admitted to a cinema hall shall be equal to the number of seats available in the theater. The introduction of additional benches, seats, and chairs is prohibited; there shall be no standing public, persons seated on the floor, on bleachers, or in balconies.

At each entrance of cinema halls, at a visible height level and on a permanent basis, the maximum capacity of spectators in accordance with the number of available seats in each hall must be posted; likewise, the prohibition "NO SMOKING" must be posted.

The enterprises and their personnel shall permit entry to members of the T.N.C., to the cinema halls and to the projection rooms in order to investigate any abnormal situation that may arise.

I.- During special functions for child audiences, the following provisions must be complied with:

• a)

  Not to present previews or extras of any kind.

• b)

  To strictly prohibit smoking within the halls.

• c)

  To provide maximum conditions of safety and hygiene.

• d)

  Not to exhibit films unsuitable for children during matinee functions.

• e)

  To ensure proper conduct and vocabulary of attendees. II.- During functions for general audiences, smoking within the halls is strictly prohibited.

Minors under 15 years of age who attend authorized evening functions for spectators of that age shall not be admitted unless accompanied by adults.

It is prohibited that representations or acts contrary to morality be performed in cinema halls. The persons involved in these actions shall be sanctioned. CHAPTER IV REGULATIONS ON OTHER FORMS OF CINEMATOGRAPHIC PROJECTION

Lessors of filmed material recorded on magnetic tapes and discs shall submit monthly a list of existing films so that the T.N.C. may determine the corresponding ratings for films for which no rating exists. The personnel of these enterprises shall not deliver the material to minors when the minimum age of the rating so indicates.

Filmed material in video rental businesses originally intended to be viewed through commercial channels and the public may automatically be delivered to the client, provided that such programming has not been subject to restrictions by the T.N.C.; otherwise, it shall be submitted for examination by the same.

The T.N.C. may prohibit the transmission of any cinema program that is considered inappropriate to be viewed on television. CHAPTER V PROHIBITIONS AND SANCTIONS

Enterprises or persons who disobey the provisions issued by the T.N.C., or who violate in any way the norms contained in this Regulation, shall be sanctioned with those fixed herein.

Cinematographic films, whether national or foreign, may not be exhibited within national territory without having been previously authorized and rated by the T.N.C.

The entrepreneur who exhibits a film not rated by the T.N.C. shall incur a fine of Lps. 1,000.00, without prejudice to confiscation; in case of recurrence, the fine shall be Lps. 2,000.00.

Whoever in any way adulterates or circumvents the rating made by the T.N.C. shall be sanctioned in accordance with the previous Article.

During the hours in which educational establishments operate, the entry of students in uniform to the theater halls is prohibited. The violation of this provision gives rise to the imposition of a fine of Lps. 200.00.

The disobedience of the entrepreneur in suspending a function that does not comply with the provisions issued in this Regulation shall be sanctioned with a fine of Lps. 3,000.00.

Violation of the provisions contained in Chapter II of this Regulation shall incur a penalty of Lps. 1,000.00 against cinema companies.

Violation of the provisions contained in Chapter III of this Regulation shall incur a fine of Lps. 1,000.00 against cinema companies.

Violation of the provisions contained in Chapter IV of this Regulation shall incur a fine of Lps. 2,000.00 against cinema companies. CHAPTER VI REMEDIES

Against the resolutions of the T.N.C., the interested party may file remedies of reconsideration before said Tribunal, and of appeal before the State Secretariat in the Office of Governance and Justice.

The aforementioned remedies may be filed at the time of notification of the resolution in writing within the three business days following.

The appellant shall appear improving the remedy and expressing the grievances it deems appropriate within the period designated. If the appellant fails to appear, the remedy shall be declared abandoned ex officio and the return of the proceedings to the court of origin shall be ordered.

Matters not provided for in this Regulation shall be subject to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Code.

The filing of legal remedies does not prevent the execution of the appealed resolution. CHAPTER VII FINAL PROVISIONS

The Political Governors in their respective departments shall ensure strict compliance with the provisions contained in this Regulation, communicating to the T.N.C. any violation thereof in order to proceed with the corresponding sanction.

All fines imposed by the T.N.C. shall be entered in the respective Revenue Administration.

This Regulation shall enter into force as of the date of its publication in the Official Gazette "LA GACETA", thereby repealing the Regulation for cinema censorship that was approved by agreement # 994 of November 17, 1955, and any other provision that conflicts with it. LET IT BE COMMUNICATED. ENG. JOSE SIMON AZCONA HOYO CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC. THE STATE SECRETARY IN THE OFFICE OF GOVERNANCE AND JUSTICE. PROF. ROMUALDO BUESO FERRERA /vvc.