Decree no. 90-174 of February 23, 1990 on the classification of cinematographic works - Consolidated version

Decree no. 90-174 of February 23, 1990 implementing articles 19 to 22 of the film industry code and relating to the classification of cinematographic works.

amended and supplemented by decrees no. 92-446 of May 15, 1992, no. 96-776 of September 2, 1996, no. 2001-618 of July 12, 2001 and no. 2002-945 of June 28, 2002

FIRST TITLE
THE COMMISSION FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF CINEMATOGRAPHIC WORKS

Article 1
I. The classification commission for cinematographic works comprises :
- a chairman and a deputy chairman;
- twenty-five full members and fifty alternate members, divided into four colleges.

1° The first college comprises five full members and ten alternate members, representing respectively the ministers of justice, national education, the interior, social affairs and youth.

2° The college of professionals comprises eight full members and sixteen alternate members chosen by the Minister of Culture from leading figures in the film industry, after browsing the main organizations or associations in the industry and film critics.

3° The panel of experts comprises :
a) Four full members and eight alternate members appointed by the Minister of Culture on the recommendation of the Ministers of Justice, National Education, Social Affairs and Youth, and chosen from leading figures in the field of child and youth protection;
b) One full member and two alternate members appointed by the Minister of Culture on the recommendation of the French Superior Audiovisual Council;
c) Two full members and four alternate members appointed by the Minister of Culture after consultation with the Union nationale des associations familiales and the Association des maires de France.
d) The Children's Ombudsman and two deputy members appointed by the Minister of Culture on the recommendation of the Children's Ombudsman.

4° The youngsters' college comprises :
a) Three full members and six alternate members aged between eighteen and twenty-five on the date of their appointment, chosen by the Minister for Culture after browsing the Conseil national de l'éducation populaire et de la jeunesse;
b) One full member and two alternate members aged between eighteen and twenty-five on the date of their appointment, chosen by the Minister for Culture from lists of candidates drawn up by the Director General of the Centre national de la cinématographie under conditions laid down by order of the Minister for Culture.

II. The Chairman and Alternate Chairman are appointed for a period of three years, renewable twice, by decree of the Prime Minister issued on the report of the Minister of Culture. The chairman is chosen from among the members of the Conseil d'Etat.
On the proposal of the Chairman, the Minister of Culture may, if the Chairman and Alternate Chairman are both unable to attend, appoint, for a given session, a member chosen by the Minister to act as Chairman of that session.

III. Full and alternate members are appointed for a period of three years, renewable twice, by order of the Minister for Culture.
In the event of a vacancy, a new member is appointed for the remainder of the term.

IV. A representative of each of the ministers responsible for culture, foreign affairs and overseas France departments and territories may also attend meetings of the commission in an advisory capacity.
Whenever it appears useful, all qualified persons may attend Commission meetings in an advisory capacity, at the invitation of the Chairman.
The General Manager of the Centre National de la Cinématographie may attend or be represented at meetings of the Commission. He may take part in deliberations, but may not vote.

Article 2
The Classification Committee meets either in plenary session or in sub-committees.
Only full members, alternates and members in an advisory capacity may sit in plenary session.
A decree issued by the Minister of Culture sets out the duties and operating procedures of the sub-committees. Full members and deputy members may be assisted by deputies who take part in sub-committee meetings. These deputies are appointed by decision of the Commission Chairman, after approval by the Minister of Culture, for a period of three years, renewable twice.
Subject to the provisions of article 15 below, any decision involving any restriction whatsoever on the exhibition of a cinematographic work may only be given in plenary session. In such cases, reasons must be given for the opinion, which may be made public by the Minister of Culture.
The opinion of the plenary assembly is not necessary, however, if the person demanding the visa expressly declares that he or she will defer to the opinion of the sub-commission.
The committee's debates are not public.
The plenary meeting of the commission is valid only if at least thirteen members are present. Commission members may not delegate their vote. They are bound by professional secrecy and may not report, in any form whatsoever, on the committee's deliberations. Voting is by secret ballot. However, in the event of a tie, the Chairman must announce his vote, and his vote is predominant.
Members of commissions and sub-commissions may not sit if they have a direct or indirect interest in a cinematographic work.

TITLE II CLASSIFICATION

Article 3
The Minister responsible for culture issues the operating license referred to in article 19 of the French Film Industry Code after consulting the Classification Commission. The commission issues an opinion on cinematographic works, including trailers, with a view to one of the following measures:
a) Visa authorizing the showing of the cinematographic work for all audiences;
b) Approval prohibiting the showing of the film to persons under 18;
c) Visa prohibiting representation to persons under 18;
d) Visa prohibiting representation to persons under 18;
e) Inclusion of the cinematographic work on the lists provided for in articles 11 and 12 of law n°75-1278 of December 30, 1975, entailing a ban on showing to persons under 18;
f) Total ban on the film.
Opinions proposing one of the measures mentioned in d, e and f can only be adopted by the commission by a two-thirds majority of members present.
The commission may propose that each measure be accompanied by a warning, intended to inform the viewer about the content of the work or certain of its particular features.

Article 4
In the light of the opinion issued by the classification committee, the minister responsible for culture takes one of the measures provided for in article 3. If he takes one of the measures mentioned in b to f of this article, his decision must be substantiated. The Minister may decide, on his own initiative or on the proposal of the commission, that a warning concerning the content or particularities of the work will be displayed for the public to see, at the entrance to the rooms where the work will be shown. This warning must also precede any diffusion by an audiovisuel communication service.
Before giving a ruling, the Minister has the option of asking the commission for a further examination. In this case, he or she will forward the reasons for the demand and any useful observations to the chairman of the commission.
The proceedings provided for in the previous paragraph are compulsory if the Minister of Culture intends to take a decision involving a more restrictive measure than that proposed by the classification committee.

Article 5
When the operating license includes a ban on showing to persons under the age of twelve, sixteen or eighteen, or when a decision has been made to include a film on the list provided for in article 12 of the aforementioned law of December 30, 1975, the ban or inclusion must be clearly and intelligibly mentioned on all posters, advertisements or trailers, whatever their broadcasting method.
In the event of diffusion of this work by an audiovisual communication service, the public must be warned in advance of this prohibition or inscription, both during the on-air broadcast and in the program announcements broadcast by the press, radio broadcasting and television.
When a cinematographic work is published in the form of a videogram intended for private use by the public, the prohibitions referred to in article 3 of the present decree, which may have accompanied the issue of the operating licence, must be clearly mentioned on each of the copies published and offered for rental or sale, as well as on their packaging.

Article 6
Advertising material made available to exhibitors by distributors of cinematographic works is subject to approval by the classification committee before use.
Where illustrations are used, the advertising facades of cinemas showing a film which is forbidden to persons under the age of twelve, sixteen or eighteen may only consist of images or reproductions extracted or directly derived from posters or photographs approved by the classification commission.

Article 7
An exhibition visa may only be demanded for a cinematographic work whose production has been completed. The demand must be presented by the producer of the work, or by an authorized representative, at least one month before the date scheduled for the first public showing of the work.
In support of the demand, the following documents must be submitted:
- a copy of the exact and complete version of the cinematographic work as it is to be exhibited in France;
- the dialogue cut in its complete and definitive form;
- receipt for provisional payment of the tax instituted by article 20 of the film industry code and set by article 2 of decree no. 67-543 of June 30 1967.

Article 8
No cinematographic work, with the exception of cinematographic works used for commercial advertising as defined by decree of the Minister of Culture, may be granted an exhibition license unless it has first been registered in the public cinematography and audiovisual register.

Article 9
Works may exceptionally be submitted to the commission for the classification of cinematographic works in dubbed format. A demand to this effect must be addressed to the president of the commission.

Article 10
The exhibition license is equivalent to authorization for public performance of the cinematographic work throughout the French Republic, with the exception of overseas France.

Article 11
No cinematographic work may be publicly shown without the nature, number and date of the visa being shown on the screen immediately after the title of the work.

Article 12
abrogated by decree n° 2001-618 of July 12, 2001 (JO of July 13, 2001)

Article 13
All cinematographic works must be shown in public in the form in which they have been presented to the classification commission.

Article 14
The members of the classification committee and the agents authorized by the Minister of Culture have free access, on presentation of a service card, to cinemas or any other place where cinematographic works are shown in public, with or without payment.

Article 15
Visas issued prior to the entry into force of the present decree remain valid.
Any such visas containing a ban on persons under the age of thirteen shall be converted into visas containing a ban on persons under the age of twelve.

Article 16
Any export of cinematographic works, any transfer or concession, whoever the assignee or concessionaire may be, of the rights of exploitation abroad of a cinematographic work are subject to obtaining an export visa.
The Director General of the Centre national de la cinématographie may grant temporary export authorizations.

TITLE III
FOREIGN CINEMATOGRAPHIC WORKS AND CO-PRODUCTIONS

Article 17
The exploitation of a cinematographic work dubbed into French is subject to obtaining a visa separate from that issued for the exploitation of the work in its original version.
The dubbed version can only be released if the original version has been approved for release, and if the dubbing has been carried out entirely in studios located in France. However, this second condition is not required for films with the nationality of a member state of the European Economic Community and for films with Canadian nationality dubbed in Canada.
Foreign cinematographic works presented in their original version must be presented to the classification committee in the exact version in which they will be shown in France.
The following must be submitted at the same time
- the text and juxtaposed French translation of the title or dialogue and, where appropriate, the subtitles of the original version;
- the text of the French subtitles of the version shown in France.

Article 18
All cinematographic works must mention their country of origin. In the case of a co-production, the co-producing countries must be mentioned.
When a cinematographic work is dubbed, mention must be made of this dubbing.

TITLE IV
MISCELLANEOUS SCHEMES

Article 19
In the event of failure to comply with the provisions of the present decree, and in particular in the event of the production of a declaration in support of the visa demand that is false in whole or in part, the Minister responsible for culture may, depending on the case, declare the visa null and void or withdraw it, without prejudice to the application of the penalties provided for in article 22 of the French Film Industry Code.
However, any failure to comply with the obligations set out in the third paragraph of article 5 will be punishable by the penalty notices laid down for 3rd class offences.
Any circulation or representation of advertising material without the visa provided for in article 6, paragraph 1, above, will be punishable by the penalty notices laid down for 3rd class offences. The same shall apply to any infringement of the provisions of the second paragraph of article 6.
However, failure to comply with the obligations set out in article 4 (paragraph 3) of the present decree shall be punishable by a 3rd class fine.

Article 20
abrogated by decree n° 2001-618 of July 12, 2001 (JO of July 13, 2001)

Article 21
The Minister of Culture may authorize, after consultation with the chairman of the classification committee and as an exception to the bans imposed under articles 3, 4 and 5 of this decree, non-commercial screenings organized on an exceptional basis in schools or universities at the request and under the responsibility of the head of the school and after consulting the school council, under conditions designed to ensure the educational value of such screenings.

Article 22
For cinematographic works used for commercial advertising and screened in a single département, the minister responsible for culture may delegate his signature for the issue of visas to the prefects. Consultation of the classification commission is not compulsory.

Article 23
The present decree will be effective from the first day of the month following publication in the Journal Officiel of the decree appointing the chairman and deputy chairman and of the order appointing the members of the film classification committee.
At this date, the provisions of decree no. 61-62 of January 18, 1961, as amended, concerning public administration regulations for the application of articles 19 to 22 of the film industry code, will be abrogated.
The terms of office of the chairman, deputy chairman and members appointed prior to the entry into force of this decree shall expire with effect from the date of entry into force.

Article 24
The present decree is applicable in the territorial collectivity of Mayotte.

Article 25
The Minister of State, Minister of National Education, Youth and Sport, the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Culture, Communication, Major Works and the Bicentenary, the Minister of Overseas France, Government Spokesperson, the Minister of Solidarity, de la santé et de la protection sociale and the secrétaire d'État auprès du ministre d'Etat, ministre de l'éducation nationale, de la jeunesse et des sports, chargé de la jeunesse et des sports, are responsible, each in their own area, for the execution of the present decree, which will be published in the Journal officiel de la République française.