The members are appointed by the President based upon a list of nominees chosen by a selection committee. The selection committee would be required to advertise these positions publicly and engage in a transparent selection process. Once appointed, a member may only be removed prior to the end of his or her term after an ad hoc investigation committee conducts and investigation and recommends the removal to the president.34 The Bill would give the Commission power to investigate violations in several other laws, including the Telecommunications Law and the Electronic Transaction Law, and provides that references in those laws to the Posts and Telecommunications Department, which currently regulates telecommunications, should be replaced by references to the Telecommunications Commission.35 Despite these guarantees, the Bill fails to include provisions to ensure that the commission is actually independent. The selection committee is made up of three people, one designated by the Speaker of the Pyidaugsu Hluttaw, one by the Minister responsible for communications and one by a person who is not a ministry official who is nominated by the Chairman of the National Telecommunications Advisory Committee. However, because the Minister responsible for communications designates the National Telecommunications Advisory Committee Chairman,36 the former essentially controls two of the three positions on the selection committee. Furthermore, while the Bill states that the Committee shall be independent, it also provides for it to be responsible to the President.37 If the Bill passes, this would represent an important step towards creating a more independent telecommunications sector. However, ideally the Bill would be significantly strengthened to bolster the independence of the Commission. This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of CLD and IMS and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union 34 Draft Myanmar Communications Regulatory Commission Law, note 33, section 29. Draft Myanmar Communications Regulatory Commission Law, note 33, section 68. 36 Telecommunications Law, note 6, section 74. 37 Draft Myanmar Communications Regulatory Commission Law, note 33, section 16. 35 - 11 -