Commentaries: Art. 72a

The Agency Council is the strategic body of the Agency and safeguards its interests. It has the following duties:
1. It draws up the Agency’s strategic objectives, submits them to the Federal Council for approval and reviews them annually.
2. It submits an annual report to the Federal Council on the achievement of the strategic objectives. It submits to the Federal Council the report of the Swiss Federal Audit Office on an audit of the Agency as part of financial supervision.
3. It proposes to the Federal Council the amount of compensation to be paid by the Confederation for services rendered pursuant to Article 69.
4. It issues the regulations of the organisation of the Agency.
5. It issues is own rules of procedure and shall in particular lay down the rules on recusal.
6. It prepares and approves a business report for each financial year and submits it to the Federal Council for approval. At the same time, it submits a request to the Federal Council for discharge and for the appropriation of any profit. It publishes the business report after approval.
7. It decides on the establishment, amendment and termination of the employment relationship with the executive director. The establishment and termination of the employment relationship require the approval of the Federal Council.
8. It decides on the establishment, amendment and termination of the employment relationship of the other members of the Management Board at the request of the executive director.
9. It fulfils other duties in the therapeutic products sector which the Federal Council assigns to it.
10. It supervises the Management Board and ensures that the internal control system and risk management are appropriate for the Agency.
11. It enacts the provisions referred to in Article 82 paragraph 2.
12. It approves the business plan and the budget.
13. It concludes the affiliation agreement with the Federal Pension Fund (PUBLICA) and submits it to the Federal Council for approval.
14. It regulates the composition, election procedure and organisation of the joint body for the pension fund.
15. It issues regulatory provisions which guarantee the independence of the experts appointed by the Agency.
The members of the Agency Council shall fulfil their duties and obligations with all due care and shall safeguard the interests of the Agency in good faith. The Agency Council shall take organisational precautions to safeguard the interests of the Agency and to prevent conflicts of interest.