Article 4 Confidentiality, use of information and data protection

Cooperation arrangements shall require the parties to refrain from disclosing information exchanged or provided to them under the cooperation arrangements, except where the party which had provided the information has given its prior written consent or where the disclosure of data is a necessary and proportionate obligation required under the laws of the United Kingdom or any part thereof, or any other law applicable in the jurisdictions in which the competent authorities which are party to the relevant cooperation arrangement are located, in particular in the context of investigations or subsequent judicial proceedings.

Cooperation arrangements shall require information obtained by an authority under the arrangements to be securely stored, and shall permit the information to be used solely for the purpose set out by that authority in its request for the information or, if the information was provided other than by means of a request, solely for the purpose of enabling that authority to exercise its regulatory and supervisory functions. That authority may, however, use the information for another purpose if it has obtained prior written consent to do so from the authority that provided the information under the arrangements.

Where cooperation arrangements allow for personal data to be exchanged, they shall contain provisions to ensure adequate means for the protection of such data that complies with all applicable data protection legislation in the jurisdictions of the competent authorities which are party to the respective cooperation arrangement.