SECTOR 1 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 3.8 (2013 = 2.4; 2010 = 3.3) 1.5 Print publications are not required to obtain permission to publish from state authorities. In Togo, publications merely need make a declaration informing the HAAC of their intention to publish. According to Article 14 of the Press Code, all national publications are subject to the issue of a formal confirmation following a written declaration, signed by the director of publications. The latter has to be a Togolese national and not have incurred the loss of his civil and political rights. Article 15 specifies that the declaration on stamped paper should be sent in quadruplicate to the HAAC. The declaration must include the title, language(s) and periodicity of the publication. It should also include the name and address of the owner and of the director of publications, the head office of the news agency and the business name of the legal entity. In accordance with the legal texts, the HAAC delivers a formal confirmation which enables the declarant to publish his newspaper. This procedure takes from a week to six months. In spite of this seemingly easy procedure, the panel is unanimous in saying that although in theory, the HAAC calls it a declaration, practice shows otherwise. One panel member uses the expression “it depends on whether he likes the look of you or not” to illustrate the possible difficulties confronting a declarant. This means that formal confirmations are not automatically allocated, as they can either be delivered speedily or very tardily according to political affinities. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER TOGO 2017 73