Verdrag tussen de Regering van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden en de Regering van het Verenigd Koninkrijk van Groot-Brittannië en Noord-Ierland inzake wederzijdse bijstand en de uitwisseling van informatie op het gebied van effecten, termijncontracten en opties

1. The Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, grant to each other the fullest possible measure of assistance in regulatory and supervisory matters within the scope of this Agreement.
2. This Agreement does not create an enforceable right by third parties to initiate requests or have requests initiated on their behalf.
3. This Agreement shall be executed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Contracting Parties.
4. The Agreement does not affect the obligations of the Contracting Parties which arise from their membership of international organisations or from international agreements to which they are parties.

Each Contracting Party shall designate one or more Competent Authorities for the purpose of making and receiving requests under this Agreement.

Before a designation of one or more Competent Authorities is made by one Contracting Party, other than such a designation made at the time of entry into force of this Agreement, it shall consult the other Contracting Party.

All requests pursuant to this Agreement shall be made and executed through a Competent Authority for each Contracting Party. The Competent Authorities shall communicate directly with each other for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Agreement.

To the extent permitted by law and in accordance with the practices in its State, each Competent Authority shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that the relevant Competent Authority or Authorities of the other Contracting Party are provided with any information which gives rise to a suspicion of a breach, or anticipated breach, of laws, rules or regulations having effect in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Mutual co-operation in criminal matters between the Contracting Parties shall continue to be governed by the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, concluded in Strasbourg on 20 April 1959, and the additional Protocol, concluded in Strasbourg on 17 March 1978.

1. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent or inhibit assistance being requested and given through channels other than those provided for in this Agreement.
2. Notwithstanding Article 4 above, a Competent Authority may:
a) communicate from the territory of its State with any person in the territory of the other Contracting Party who agrees voluntarily to provide the requested information;
b) make requests on an informal basis for information available from a public source in the territory of the other Contracting Party without complying with the terms of this Agreement.
3. If the request for information under paragraph 2(a) above is related to an investigation into, or a prosecution or other action in respect of, a serious breach of laws, rules or regulations having effect in the territory of either Contracting Party, then the requesting Competent Authority shall inform the relevant Competent Authority in the other country in advance of making the contact envisaged by paragraph 2(a).
4. The provisions of this Article are without prejudice to Article 6.

The Competent Authorities shall endeavour to provide the greatest possible measure of assistance to each other in the performance of their respective functions in the following areas of financial regulation:
a) insider dealing, market manipulation and other irregularities in relation to securities, futures and options;
b) regulation of investment business;
c) disclosure of interests in the securities of companies;
d) the duties of issuers of and offerors of securities to make full and fair disclosure of information relevant to investors;
e) other areas of financial regulation which are designated by mutual agreement of the Contracting Parties.

The requesting and requested Competent Authorities may consult about a request or proposed request.

The requesting Competent Authority shall specify:
a) the information required (documents, identity of persons, specific questions to be asked etc);
b) the purpose for which information is sought (including details of the laws, rules or regulations of which a breach is suspected);
c) a description of the circumstances which give rise to the request;
d) the link between the request and the regulatory function of the requesting Competent Authority;
e) whether it is desired that, to the extent permitted by the laws, rules and regulations applying to the requested Competent Authority, any persons from the requesting Competent Authority should be present during an investigation, and whether it is desired that such persons should be permitted to participate in the investigation.

Any document or other material provided by a requested Competent Authority in response to a request which has been made under this Agreement and any copies thereof shall be returned to that Competent Authority on its demand, to the extent permitted by law applicable in the State of the requesting Competent Authority.

In deciding whether to accept or decline a request the following considerations may, in particular, be taken into account by the requested Competent Authority:
a) whether the request involves the assertion of a jurisdiction not recognised by the state of the requested Competent Authority;
b) whether executing the request would interfere with an existing investigation by the requested Competent Authority or any other enforcement or regulatory body in the state of the requested Competent Authority;
c) whether it would be contrary to public interest to give the assistance sought.

In any case where the request cannot be accepted completely, the requested Competent Authority shall consider whether there may be other assistance it can give.

1. If it appears that responding to a request under this Agreement will involve substantial costs being incurred by a requested Competent Authority, the requested and requesting Competent Authorities shall establish a cost sharing arrangement before further proceeding with the request for assistance.
2. If in general the execution of this Agreement leads to costs being incurred mainly and substantially by one of the Competent Authorities, then the Competent Authorities concerned shall establish a general cost sharing arrangement.

The information supplied may be used solely for the purpose of:
a) assisting the requesting Competent Authority in the exercise of its regulatory functions in relation to the case specified;
b) conducting or assisting in civil proceedings in the United Kingdom or administrative proceedings in the Netherlands arising out of a breach of the laws, rules or regulations specified in the request and brought by a Competent Authority within its own State;
c) taking regulatory action or imposing regulatory requirements within the areas set out in Article 8 above.

Notwithstanding Article 15 above, information supplied under the terms of this Agreement may, subject to the prior written consent of the requested Competent Authority, be used by the requesting Competent Authority for purposes other than those falling within Article 15.
If that other purpose concerns use in criminal proceedings, the requested Competent Authority shall give its consent only after having consulted the relevant authority or authorities in criminal matters in its State.

Each Competent Authority shall keep confidential to the extent permitted by the law of its own State:
a) any request for information made under the Agreement unless disclosure is necessary to carry out the request or the requesting Competent Authority waives such confidentiality;
b) any information passed under the Agreement unless the requested Competent Authority waives such confidentiality.

If a Competent Authority becomes aware that information it has received under this Agreement is likely to be disclosed into the public domain, it shall endeavour to inform the Competent Authority or Authorities which provided the information before such disclosure occurs.

Unless the request provides otherwise, Articles 15, 16 and 17 of the Agreement shall not prevent the requesting Competent Authority from informing other bodies within the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom or the Netherlands of the request or of passing information received pursuant to a request to such bodies, provided that:
a) the requested Competent Authority is notified in advance of such disclosure of information;
b) such bodies have responsibility for regulation or enforcing laws, rules or regulations falling within the areas set out in Article 8 above;
c) the purpose of passing such information to such a body is to assist it to perform its functions in the areas set out in Article 8; and
d) in cases where no statutory or other legal restrictions equivalent to the provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 of this Agreement apply to such a body, the requesting Competent Authority obtains an undertaking from the body that it shall comply with the provisions regarding confidentiality in this Agreement.

The Agreement may be terminated by either Contracting Party by giving notice in writing to the other Contracting Party through the diplomatic channel. The Agreement shall cease to be effective thirty days after the receipt of such notice.

This Agreement shall apply:
a) to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe .
b) to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

This Agreement shall enter info force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has informed the Government of the United Kingdom in writing that the relevant constitutional procedures in the Netherlands have been completed.