C.  J udicial, A r bitr al, or  A dministr ative Tribunals 

N egotiator s  s hould s eek agreement on the following gener al pr inciples:

1.  S ervice provider s  s hould have an opportunity to f ile a complaint about

incons is tent enf or cement between for eign and domes tic pr oviders .

2.  S ervice provider s  s hould have an opportunity to f ile a complaint about

arbitr ar y r egulatory action against thos e w ho give comments in regulatory hear ings.

3.  A pplicants s hould have an oppor tunity to f ile a complaint in the event

that a licens e application is r ef us ed review or a decis ion is  delayed by the r elevant

author ity.

4.  A pplicants s hould have an oppor tunity to f ile an appeal in the event that

a licens e application is denied.  A ppeals  s hould be decided w ithin a r eas onable per iod of

time.

5.  I n any regulator y enf orcement pr oceeding, the s er vice supplier  s hould be

notif ied in a timely manner about the pr oceeding and should be given an opportunity to be

heard and to submit documentar y evidence.  Subjects  of r egulatory pr oceedings should

have the r ight to legal counsel of their  choice.  The s ubjects of  regulator y proceedings 

s hould be per mitted acces s  to evidence.

6.  The bur den of pr oof  to demons tr ate that a licensed mar ket par ticipant has

not conducted its bus ines s  in accor dance with the r elevant law should lie w ith the

r egulatory authorities.

7.  D isciplinar y actions s hould not be taken on violations  of  r egulator y

s tandards that w er e not in eff ect at the time the r elevant activity took place.

8.  S anctions  by a regulator y author ity s hould not be impos ed in an unf air  or

dis cr iminator y manner .  Regulator s s hould treat similar ly situated per s ons and entities in a

s imilar manner.

9.  The subjects  of any r egulator y enf or cement proceeding should have an

oppor tunity to appeal any enfor cement finding or  s anction impos ed.

I II .  Sp ecial S ect oral Dis ciplines

Every regu lated service s ector  has u niqu e f eatur es  th at may r equir e dif feren t

r ules  regar ding a tr ans par en t and f air  r egu lator y s ys tem, in clu din g br oader  regu lator y

r ef or m as n eces s ar y and appr opr iate.  S uch s pecial r ules  should be pr ovided f or  in the

propos ed agreement or  in s ector al s chedules .  This  was the appr oach us ed in the G ATS

A nnex on Telecommunications and the Basic Telecommunications  Refer ence Paper .

77