Art. 67 Fundamental Rights Officer | Anti-money laundering authority regulation (AMLAR) | AML

This article establishes the role of a Fundamental Rights Officer within the Authority.

It covers how the role is created, what the Officer does, and the independence and reporting arrangements that govern it.

The article reflects a broader governance concern within the Authority — ensuring that as it exercises its supervisory and investigative powers under the regulation, it does so in a manner consistent with fundamental rights.

Important points:

The Executive Board is required to designate a Fundamental Rights Officer, on the proposal of the Executive Director, and this person may be drawn from existing staff.
The Fundamental Rights Officer advises staff, monitors compliance with fundamental rights, provides non-binding opinions, and reports possible violations to the Executive Director and Executive Board.
The Executive Board must ensure the Fundamental Rights Officer operates without taking instructions from anyone regarding the exercise of their tasks, and the Officer reports directly to the Executive Director.

1. The Executive Board shall, upon a proposal of the Executive Director, designate a Fundamental Rights Officer. The Fundamental Rights Officer may be a member of the existing staff of the Authority.
1. The Fundamental Rights Officer shall perform the following tasks:
  1. advise the staff of the Authority on any activity carried out by the Authority, where the Officer deems it necessary or where requested by the staff without impeding or delaying those activities;
  2. promote and monitor the Authority’s compliance with fundamental rights;
  3. provide non-binding opinions on the compliance of the Authority’s activities with fundamental rights;
  4. inform the Executive Director and the Executive Board about possible violations of fundamental rights in the course of the Authority’s activities.
1. The Executive Board shall ensure that the Fundamental Rights Officer does not seek or take any instructions regarding the exercise of the Officer’s tasks.
1. The Fundamental Rights Officer shall report directly to the Executive Director and prepare regular reports on the performance of the tasks referred to in paragraph 2. Those reports shall be made available to the Executive Board.