The Legal Background of
the Book Sector in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Central
Asia
Hungary
EXCERPTS OF TEXTS FROM LAWS
RELEVANT TO THE BOOK SECTOR TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
Freedom to publish
Act XX of 1949 on the Constitution of
the Republic of Hungary
Article 61
(1) In the Republic of Hungary everyone
has the right to the free declaration of his views and opinions...
(2) The Republic of Hungary recognizes
and protects the freedom of the Press.
(3) The law on the ... freedom of the Press
requires the support of two thirds of the votes of the MPs present
for ratification.
Act II of 1986 on the Press
The Constitution of the Republic of Hungary
protects the freedom of the Press. Everyone has the right to the
free declaration of his views and opinions by the Press.
Article 12
(1) Everyone has the right to make press
products and make them public.
Article 20
In the application of this act:
b) Press products: ... books ...;
Decree 12/1986. (IV. 22.) MT of the
Council of Ministers on the Execution of Act II of 1986 on the
Press
Article 1
In the application of the Act and the Decree:
a) book: a written document in the extent
of at least three author's sheets, not qualifying as a periodical
Limits of freedom to publish
Act II of 1986 on the Press
(Preamble: ...Everyone has the right
to make his views and creations public by way of the press,...)
in so far as these do not offend the constitutional order of the
Republic of Hungary.
Article 3
(1) The exercise of the freedom of press
must not realise crime nor call for crime, must not offend public
moral and must not incur offence to other people's personal rights.
Article 12
(1) (Everyone has the right to produce
and publish press products.) This right can be limited by
law to the extent which is by all means necessary and proportional
- in the interest of the assertion of other fundamental constitutional
rights.
Article 15
... (3) Upon the motion of a public prosecutor
the court can prohibit the publishing of a press product ... which
commits offence against paragraph (1) of Article 3. The public
prosecutor can immediately suspend the publishing of such press
product... The order of a public prosecutor to suspend publishing
loses effect when the decision in effect of a court becomes valid.
Article 17
(1) No press product can be published,
a) the confiscation of which has been decided
by the court or an authority on offence,
b) which has been seized by an authority
on crime or offence until the seizure is abolished,
c) the publishing of which has been suspended
by a public prosecutor or prohibited by the court [Article 15,
3],
d) which lacks the most important data
on editing and publishing (imprint).
Decree 12/1986. (IV. 22.) MT of the
Minister of Culture on the Execution of the Act II of 1986 on
the Press
Article 19
(1) The court decides on the prohibition
of publishing out of turn in the frame of a civil action without
hearing. The procedure is free of charge.
(2) The order of a public prosecutor to
suspend the publishing of a press product as well as the decisions
passed by the court ... must be delivered to the publisher, the
copier, the organisation in charge of dissemination ... , the
author (editor) and the reader of the publisher; as well as to
the person whose right or legal interest [Aritcle 3, (1)] is offended
by the contents of the press product. The decisions of the court
must also be delivered to the public prosecutor. The mentioned
organs and persons as well as the public prosecutor take part
in the case as parties.
Article 20
(1) The court decides upon the motion of
the public prosecutor with an order.
(2) If the public prosecutor withdraws
the motion, the court stops the case.
Act IV of 1978 on the Criminal Code
Article 213
The person who
a) manufactures or disseminates without permission a press product
for the manufacturing or dissemination of which a licence is required,
b) disseminates a press product whose sequestration or confiscation
has been ordered, commits a misdemeanour and shall be punishable
with fine.
Government Decree No. 17/1968. (IV.
14.) Korm. on Various Acts of Misdemeanour
Article 159/A
(1) Any person
a) who without permission produces or distributes a press product
the production of which is subject to permission,
b) who distributes such press product which has been ordered to
be distrained or forfeited, supposing in either case that the
act affects a small amount of press products can be fined up to
thirty thousand forints.
(2) Any press product which was the object of misdemeanour contained
in (1) can be forfeited. (3) The procedure in cases of misdemeanour
contained in (1) belongs to the competence of the police.
Preconditions for regular operation in
the book sector
There are no preconditions specific for
publishers or booksellers, they are subject to the same regulations
as other businesses, employers or shopkeepers.
Government Decree No. 4/1997 (I.22.)
Korm. on the Operation of Business Establishments and the Conditions
for Conducting Domestic Trading Activities
Section 2.
(1) ... traders shall only undertake commercial
activities in retail shops having a business license, ....
(2) Traders not having a business establishment,
with their name and registered address conspicuously displayed
... c) may ... sell the goods specified
in Schedule No. 3 to this Decree in public areas, on the basis
of the required official license and the permission of the party
owning (managing) the public area;
Section 3.
(1) Traders may request the town clerk
of the with jurisdiction over the location where the business
establishment is situated ... to issue a business license for
the business establishment....
Schedule No. 1. Business Profiles
1371. Bookstore [under TEAOR 52.47]
Books (e.g. printed books, brochures, flyers,
dictionaries, lexicons, maps, etc.). From among sexual goods,
works, books and prerecorded video tapes containing depictions
of sexual life may be sold as well with due consideration to the
provisions of Section 14 of this Decree.
Schedule No. 3
Products and goods which may be sold in
public areas based on Paragraph c) of Subsection (2) of Section
2 of this Decree: ... books...
Obligations for publishers
Act II of 1986 on the Press
Article 16
(1) ... the press product must carry the
most important data on editing and publishing (imprint).
(2) Of the press products determined by
law free legal deposit copies must be placed at the disposal of
the organs designated by law for scientific and administrative
purposes. The legal deposit remains the possession of the organ
entitled to this.
Article 18
(1) ... the copier, the publisher and the
organ in charge of dissemination or the person in charge of such
organs as well as the editor with regard to his obligations are
held responsible for the observation of the provisions of this
law - also in case of press products which need no authorisation.
Decree 12/1986. (IV. 22.) MT of the
Council of Ministers on the Execution of Act II of 1986 on the
Press
Article 1
In the application of the Act and the Decree:
a) book: a written document in the extent
of at least three author's sheets, not qualifying as a periodical
... d) copier: the organ which operates
the copying equipment.
Article 13
... (2) The multiplication of a press product
can be started if ... the customer - in case of an organ the leader
in charge, or somebody possessing his authorisation - gives his
written agreement.
Article 14
The person in charge of the copier is obliged
to keep record of the copied press products. The record must contain
in chronological order the name of customer or publisher of the
press product, as well as its title, shape (format, size), volume
and number of copies.
Article 15
The copier keeps the signed proof [Article
13 (2)] and the manuscript for six months after the termination
of the copying; however upon agreement between the copier and
the publisher the proof (manuscript) can be handed over to the
publisher after three months for further guarding.
Article 21
(1) The imprint must carry the following
data:
a) the name of the publisher and the person
responsible for the publishing;
b) the name of the copier as well as the
person responsible for the copying;
c) the place, date and the number of the
order for multiplication
d) the person responsible for the editing
(2) Other data which are not included in
paragraph (1) and are required by the order can only appear after
the imprint, separately from it.
(3) The International Standard Book Number
(ISBN, in case of series ISSN) mark, other international marks
and the price of the press product must be determined and displayed
according to respective legal regulations.
Article 24
The manuscript (master copy) of the press
product ... must be signed by the author.
Article 25
... the publisher (customer) must provide
for the possibility of identifying the author of the press product
beyond doubt for at least six months after publishing.
Article 26
.... (2) ... the copies of legal deposit
for sicentific purposes are provided by the copier - on behalf
of the publisher (customer) -, those for administrative purposes
by the publisher.
(3) Free copy can be given to the author
of the press product, to persons taking part in the shaping of
the intellectual contents of the work, to the organ which fulfils
the supervision of the publisher, as well as those workers of
the publisher and of the supervising organ, for which the allotment
of free copies is justified with regard to their job descriptions,
as well as for purposes of press and promotion. Free copies are
provided by the publisher (customer) and become the possession
of the entitled organ (person).
Decree 60/1998. (III. 27.) Korm. of
the Government on the Provision and Use of the Legal Deposit of
Press Products
Article 3
(1) Copies of legal deposit must be provided
of the press products copied in at least 50 copies which were
a) made in Hungary or
b) made abroad and published in Hungary.
Article 5
(1) At least six copies of press product
... must be provided free to the National Széchenyi Library
(OSzK).
(2) The providers must - over the legal
deposit copies sent to the OSzK - provide 1 free copy to the respective
county library (or the Municipal Ervin Szabo Library in the capital
- FSzEK) of their seats of the press products with local relevance.
Article 8
Copies of legal deposit must be provided
... the 15th day of the month following the month of production.
Article 9
(1) Each provider and publisher must send
a report to the OSzK and the respective county library, in Budapest
to FSzEK about its press products before the 15th day of the month
following the month in question... Once a year, before the 15th
day of the month following the year in question a report must
be sent in case of zero publishing, too.
(2) The report must contain the name and
address of the informant, the name of the person responsible for
the information, the titles, authors, numbers, .... format, volume
(in A/5 sheets), print-run, ... ISBN or ISSN and retail price
as well as the name and postal address of the copier.
(4) Publishers ... disposing of their own
identity numbers within the ISBN number domain must ... (by
the 15th day of the month following the year in question)
send a report to the OSzK about the domain of numbers at their
disposal. The report contains the data of the publications published
in the year in question in their ISBN order with data (author,
title) attached which enable the identification of the work belonging
to the identifying mark.
Article 10
(1) At the same time of fulfilling the
obligation contained in Article 5, the publisher (producer, distributor)
must offer at least 7 more copies at a discounted price to the
libraries specified in this law... The amount of discount is 30%
of the retail price.
Decree 11/1985. (VIII. 1.) MM of the
Minister of Culture on the Pulping of Books, Textbooks and Related
Publications
Article 1
The Decree is effective for economic organisations,
budgetary institutions, social organisations and associations
(further: economic organisations) which regularly or occasionally
deal with book publishing and book distribution.
Article 2
It is the duty of the economic organisations
- to continuously follow with attention
the delivery of books published by them to those interested,
as well as the composition of the warehouse stock;
- to take care that books unsold due to
becoming obsolete, excessive print-run, damages or other reasons
should not burden the stocks or the warehouses and shops.
(2) For the sake of the suitable use of
books published and representing cultural, scientific and professional
value
a) economic organisations must attempt
the repeated selling of hard-to-sell and partly obsolete books
struck out of the accounts, maybe at lowered price;
b) the person in charge of the economic
organisation is entitled to offer donations of the stock struck
out of the accounts, or fulfil requests directed to this avail,
primarily for educational institutions, other budgetary organs,
social organisations or their libraries.
Article 3
(1) Pulping can take place after the provisions
contained in Article 2.
(2) Pulping is not allowed of:
a) textbooks necessary for school education,
compulsory school readings, books providing fundamental knowledge
as well as representing outstanding cultural, scientific and professional
value;
b) general and special bibliographies,
source-publications, basic handbooks, encyclopedia, classical
belles-lettres and children's literature not contained under a),
as well as popular scientific and technical books with partly
obsolete contents in numbers of copies determined individually.
Article 4
In questions not regulated in this Decree
on the utilisation, on the procedure of pulping and on controlling
the legal provisions realting to the utilisation and sorting out
of superfluous state property, as well as on accounting for missing
and destroyed property must be applied accordingly.
Copyright
Act LXXVI of 1999 on Copyright
Article 21
(1) The authors of the works and the publishers
thereof in the form of book ... which are reproduced by photocopying
or in like manner on paper or on like carrier (hereinafter jointly
referred to as by reprography) shall be due to be paid fair and
equitable remuneration on private-purpose copying. The remuneration
shall be paid by the manufacturer of the device used for reprography
or by the person obliged to pay customs duties in the case of
a device manufactured abroad …. In addition, the person operating
the reprographic device for a consideration is also obliged to
pay remuneration. In both cases the remuneration shall be paid
to the organization performing the collective administration of
rights.
(2) The specification of the devices that
may be used for reprography shall be determined by a special regulation.
(3) The remuneration referred to in Paragraph
(1) shall be set by the organization performing the collective
administration of rights…
(4) The obligation to pay remuneration
shall not apply to the case where the device is put into circulation
for export purposes.
(5) The remunerations collected, with the
administration fees deducted from them, shall be distributed to
the rightholders. Thirty per cent shall be due to the publishers
of books …, which share shall be remitted to their respective
trade organizations…
(6) The distribution proportions determined
in Paragraph (5) shall be applied unless otherwise agreed between
the affected organizations performing the collective administration
of rights and the trade organizations of the rightholders concerned
before March 31 of every year.
Article 31
(1) The authors' rights shall enjoy protection
during the lifetime of the author and for seventy years following
his death.
…
Article 32
Copyright protection of a scope consistent
with the author's economic rights shall be due to the person who,
following the expiration of the term of protection …, discloses
according to the law a work previously not disclosed to the public.
The term of such protection shall be twenty-five years from the
first day of the year following the first disclosure.
Article 34
(1) From a disclosed work any part may
be cited by indication of the source and naming the author indicated
as such. Such citation shall be true to the original and its scope
shall be justified by the nature and purpose of the borrowing
work.
(2) Part of a literary or musical work
or a work of minor size disclosed to the public may be borrowed
for purposes of school education and scientific educational lectures
with the indication of the source and the author referred to therein.
The inclusion of a work in another work to an extent which goes
beyond the scope of citation shall be taken to mean borrowing.
(3) The reproduction and distribution of
the borrowing work referred to in Paragraph (2) are not subject
to the author's authorization if the borrowing work is, pursuant
to the relevant legislation, declared to be a textbook or reference
book and the academic purpose is indicated on the title page.
Article 35
…(2) A complete book as well as the whole
of a periodical or daily may be copied even for private purpose
only by handwriting or typing.
Article 42
(1) On the basis of a licensing agreement
the author authorizes the use of his work and the user is obliged
to pay a remuneration therefor.
(2) The parties may freely agree on the
contents of the licensing agreement…
(3) If the contents of the licensing agreement
cannot be interpreted unambiguously, the interpretation most favourable
for the author shall be accepted.
Article 44
(1) The stipulation of the licensing agreement
whereby the author authorizes the use of an indefinite number
of works he is to create in the future shall be taken to be null
and void.
Article 46
(1) The user may confer the authorization
or may grant sub-licence to a third person for the use of the
work only subject to the author's express consent thereto.
Taxes
There are no differences from the general
usage in the areas of taxes and related obligations with relevance
to the book sector:
- Value added tax
- Corporate and Dividend tax
- Tax to the local government on business
revenue
- Employers' and employee's payments
into social security funds
- Procedures of taxation
Act LXXIV of 1992 on Value Added Tax
Schedule No. 1 to Act LXXIV of 1992
Sphere of Products and Services Under 12
Percent Rate of Tax Charged
I. Products and Services
41. Books ... (except: ... school
textbooks) (4901-4)
67. Book and music publishing
(SZJ 041271)
69. Other publishing services
(SZJ 041279)
Act XXIII. of 1993 on the National Cultural
Fund
Article 6
(1) The cultural contribution is calculated,
reported and paid by the obliged parties themselves, based upon
the net income (without VAT) each quarter of year, the 20th day
after the quarter to the special account of the Tax and Financial
Control Office ...
Schedule: The list of products and services
...
BTO-number Name Contribution
% Subject
From 221120 Works with pornography,
sex and violence 20 Publisher (importer)
221120 20 00 Books, brochures for children
and youth 1 Publisher (importer)
221120 30 00 Books, brochures of belles-lettres 1 Publisher
(importer)
221120 40 00 Books, brochures of social
sciences 1 Publisher (importer)
221120 50 00 Scientific, technical and
other professional books, brochures
1 Publisher (importer)
221120 70 00 Picture-, drawing and painting
books for children and youth 1 Publisher
(importer)
221130 00 00 Dictionaries, encyclopedia,
maps, music books 1 Publisher (importer)
295611 00 00 Book binding equipment
(with book sewer) 1 Manufacturer (importer)
295612 00 00 Eqipment for typesetting
and pre-press 1 Manufacturer (importer)
295613 00 00 Off-set printing machine
1 Manufacturer (importer)
295614 00 00 Other printing machine 1 Manufacturer
(importer)
Import customs
Law-Decree No. 12 of 1979 on the Promulgation
of the Agreement Dated 22 November 1950 in Lake Success
2. § ... "Agreement on the Importation
of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials"
Introduction
I. Section
1. The Contracting States oblige themselves not to apply customs
duty or other levy at, or connected to the importation of:
a) ... books ...; ...if these correspond to the conditions established
in the ... Schedules, and if these are products of another Contracting
State.
A) Schedule A ... the exemption does not apply to the following
materials: ...
b) books, ... which - essentially for the purpose of commercial
publicity - are published by, or upon commission from, a private
commercial undertaking;
d) ... or in which advertisements take more than 25 per cent of
the total size.
Act C of 1995 on Customs Law, Customs
Proceedings and Customs Administration
Article 116
(1) ... books, ... imported in accordance
with the provisions of the relevant international agreement, shall
be free of duty.
Article 118
(1) Gratuitously imported books shall be
free of duty.
Article 143
(3) No customs clearance fee shall be levied
and collected if customs clearance is performed by the application
of exemption from customs duty, based on an international convention.
(4) The contents of subsection (3) shall
also apply to the statistical duty.
Act LXXIV of 1992 on Value Added Tax
Article 31
(1) The customs exempt importation of products
shall be exempt from tax, except for the importation of products.
Decree 45/1996. (III. 25.) Korm. of
the Government on the Execution of Act C of 1995 on Customs Law,
Customs Proceedings and Customs Administration
Article 196
... (2) Products can be exempt of import
duty according to the Lake Success Agreement if the exporting
country, from where the goods originate, is a party of the agreement.
... (5) ... books imported on discs for
laser equipment (CD) or on magnet storage also qualify for books.
Unified National Classification of Products
by Sector (Teáor) and Customs Tariffs
Class X of Goods: ... paper ... and goods
made of it.
Group 49 of Goods: Books...
4901 Books, brochures, leaflet and similar
printed material including separate sheets
4802 52 Paper weighting between 40
and 150 g/m2 in rolls or sheets
Customs tariffs in %
| |
I
|
II
|
EU
|
EFTA
|
POL
|
CSR
|
SLK
|
SLN
|
ROM
|
ISR
|
TUR
|
|
4901
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
4802 52
|
8
|
10
|
3,3
|
3,3
|
3,3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
3,3
|
3,3
|
Favours from government (state acquisitions
etc.)
Act LXXIX of 1993 on Public Education
Article 19
... (3) Employees and public employees
for pedagogical services shall have the right to make use - as
defined by law - each year of a contribution corresponding to
the amount of fifty per cent of the smallest salary (minimal wage)
in effect on the last day of the preceding year for the acquisition
of professional literature (book, textbook ... etc.
Article 94 ...
(3) The Government shall regulate ... g)
the conditions of making use of the contribution to the purchase
of pedagogical professional literature (book, textbook, lecture
note, journal etc...) and the rules of accounting costs.
Act CXVII of 1995 on Personal Income
Tax
Schedule No. 1 to Act CXVII of 1995: Tax-Exempt
Revenues
...5. The following shall be tax-exempt
from the incomes received as expense reimbursement:
...5.3 sums granted to teachers for book
purchases on the basis of legal regulations.
Schedule No. 3 to Act CXVII of 1995
I. Costs typically arising
The expenditures that may be accounted
as costs, if not connected in any way of form to the personal
or family needs of the private individual ...:
22. expenses typically incurred by private
individuals engaged in artistic activities, such as... the price
paid for books...
Schedule No. 11 to Act CXVII of 1995: Accounting
for entrepreneurial expenses
I. Costs typically arising
Expenditures which may be accounted as
costs, if not connected in any way of form to the personal or
family needs of the private individual...:
26. expenses typically incurred by entrepreneurs
engaged in artistic activities, such as ... the price paid for
books...
Decree 20/1997. (II. 13.) Korm. of the
Government on the Execution of Act LXXIX of 1993 on Public Education
Article 4
(1) The public employee, employee in teacher's
status (hereinafter: "teacher") is entitled to the full amount
of the yearly contribution regulated in Article 19, paragraph
(3) of the Act on Public Education to the purchase of professional
literature (book, textbook, lecture-note, journal, electronic
document etc.) if
a) in the calendar year he/she is employed for twelve months and
performs work for twelve months furthermore b) is lawfully employed
at the date of payment, or, if is not employed at the date of
payment shall be employed in the year of payment.
(2) The teacher is entitled to proportional contribution ... if
employed for at least six months...
(3) Employment time icludes
a) illness ...
b) regular holiday.
Article 5
(1) The teacher is entitled to the contribution
once in a year also in the case when is employed by more than
employer.
(2) The contribution must be paid, transferred with the april
wages or salary in the year following the year of work. The contribution
is paid by the employer on 31 December of the year of work...
Article 6
(1) The teacher is obliged to account for
the amount of the contribution by 31 December each year to the
payer. The account is done with the invoice - containing name
and value added tax - of the purchased professional literature.
The invoice must contain the detailed list of the purchased professional
literature. The employers ... send the invoices to the Ministry
of Culture and Education by 10 February following the year of
payment.... The teacher must pay back the amount not used according
to the regulations at the time af the accounting to the payer.
The payer buys professional literature from the returned amount
for the teaching institution. If the employment, public employment
ceases before 31 December, the teacher must account for the amount
of the contribution on the last day spent at work...
Article 7
The source needed for the payment of the
contribution is claimed by the maintainer of the institution ...
from the Ministry for Home Affairs, by maintainers other than
local self-governments directly from the Ministry for Culture
and Education using a form issued by that ministry...
Non-profit allowances
Act LXXXI of 1996 on Corporate Tax and
Dividend Tax
Article 20.
(1) The following parties need not pay
the tax:
a) foundations, public foundations, social
organizations, with the exception of national interest representation
organizations, and public bodies not qualifying as public service
companies or primary public service companies, as well as housing
co-operatives, if the revenues realized from their entrepreneurial
activity, recorded pursuant to the regulations of separate legal
provisions applicable to their activity and the provisions of
Schedule No. 6, are not more than 10 million HUF, but do not exceed
10 per cent of total revenues realized in the tax year
Act LXXIV of 1992 on Value Added Tax
Section 71
(5) Upon justified request and within its
own sphere of competence, the tax authority is hereby authorized
to permit, on the grounds of equity, the refund of pre-charged
tax, not deductible pursuant to the provisions of this Act, related
to expenses incurred in the interest of the activities defined
in Paragraph a), to such social organizations, churches and foundations
which comply with all of the following conditions:
a) it serves the fulfillment of social,
health-care, educational, cultural, religious, environmental
protection or regional and settlement development objectives
affecting a wide range of citizens and the organization has
been registered at least one year prior to the year of submission
of the tax refund application as an organization conducting
such activities,
b) the organization is not striving to
make a profit neither by virtue of its deed of foundation, other
statutes or document for establishing the organization, nor
in fact, and does not distribute any potential profits earned
in spite of the prior, but rather applies such to the support,
improvement or expansion of the activities described in Paragraph
a), and
c) the organization does not provide
any monetary or in kind remuneration (including the reimbursement
of expenses) to its chief officer, administrative staff or to
the persons participating in its administration, and such persons
and their relatives do not directly or indirectly benefit from
the operation of organization.
Textbook allowances
Act LXXIV of 1992 on Value Added Tax
Scedule No. 1 to Act LXXIV of 1992
Part 2. Sphere of Products and Services
Under 0 Percent Rate of Tax Charged
39. Textbooks used in public education
(with the exception of auxiliary books, teaching aids, teachers'
manuals), declared by the minister of education in accordance
with legal prescriptions and published in the official list of
textbooks (ex 4901)
Act LXXVI of 1999 on Copyright
Article 34
…(2) Part of a literary or musical work
or a work of minor size disclosed to the public may be borrowed
for purposes of school education and scientific educational lectures
with the indication of the source and the author referred to therein.
The inclusion of a work in another work to an extent which goes
beyond the scope of citation shall be taken to mean borrowing.
(3) The reproduction and distribution of the borrowing work referred
to in Paragraph (2) are not subject to the author's authorization
if the borrowing work is, pursuant to the relevant legislation,
declared to be a textbook or reference book and the academic purpose
is indicated on the title page.
Article 35
...5) Specific parts of a work published as a book as well as
newspaper and periodical articles may be reproduced for educational
purposes in a number corresponding to the number of pupils in
a class or for purposes of exam in public and higher education
in a number necessary for the said purpose.
Act LXXIX of 1993 on Public Education
Article 93
(1) The Minister of Culture and Education
... f) shall upon submission by the National Council for Public
Education make decisions on entry on the list of textbooks ...
and makes sure of their registration, with the exception of the
textbooks for vocational training ....
Article 94
(1) The Minister of Culture and Education
shall regulate ... e) the conditions and order of declaring a
book a textbook, the preparation and publishing of the list of
textbooks, the order of deletion from the list of textbooks and
of granting textbook subsidies.
Article 96
(1) ... The National Council for Public
Education shall be a national professional body for preparing
decisions, expressing opinions and putting forward proposals.
(3) The tasks of the National Council for Public Education shall
be in particular:
... c) to submit proposals on the entry of books on the list of
textbooks.
Article 118
... (5) The sum of single purpose financial
support, which is extended to the maintainers of public educational
institutions - calculated on the basis of the number of students
- to subsidise the prices of textbooks which are sold at market
prices, shall be defined in the annual Act on the Budget. It is
the teaching staff which shall decide, taking into consideration
the opinion of the school board, the organisation (community)
of parents in the school and that of the students' self-government,
on the ways of extending financial support. The students' financial
situation may be taken into consideration in bringing the decision.
The financial support may be used for the purchasing of textbooks
to be placed in the school library, provided that through library
lending the free provision of textbooks is ensured for students.
A certain part of the support must be allotted by the school on
the purchose of durable textbooks according to law.
Article 122
... (4) During the procedure of declaring
a book a textbook one must investigate
a) whether the book is suitable for teaching the curricular contents
of the subject corresponding to the requirements of the National
Core Curriculum, furthermore whether it provides the scientific,
authentic, unbiased elaboration of the relevant academic field
at an adequate level, and its communication to the relevant age-groups
with adequate pedagogical methods,
b) the language, intelligibility and style of the book,
c) the technical realisation, the correspondence to the esthetic
(typography, graphic design, colour dynamics) and health (letter-size,
book-weight, book-size, printing ink) requirements of the book,
d) whether the book is suitable for use in multiple school years,
e) other conditions and requirements defined by law.
CPD wishes to acknowledge the help of Peter Inkei.
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