Art. 52 Criminal penalties | DORA regulation | DORA

This article sits within the broader enforcement and sanctions framework of the regulation, acting as a companion to Article 50, which establishes the general powers of competent authorities.

Article 52 addresses the specific situation where a Member State opts to use criminal penalties rather than administrative penalties for breaches of the regulation.

It clarifies that in such cases, the administrative penalty route does not need to be duplicated, but it imposes a corresponding obligation to ensure that information flows between criminal justice bodies and supervisory authorities remain functional.

Important points:

Member States may choose not to impose administrative penalties for breaches already covered by criminal penalties under national law.
Where criminal penalties are chosen, Member States must ensure competent authorities can liaise with judicial and prosecuting authorities to exchange information on criminal investigations.
Competent authorities must also be able to share that information with other competent authorities and with EBA, ESMA, or EIOPA to fulfil their cooperation obligations.

1. Member States may decide not to lay down rules for administrative penalties or remedial measures for breaches that are subject to criminal penalties under their national law.
1. Where Member States have chosen to lay down criminal penalties for breaches of this Regulation, they shall ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that competent authorities have all the necessary powers to liaise with judicial, prosecuting, or criminal justice authorities within their jurisdiction to receive specific information related to criminal investigations or proceedings commenced for breaches of this Regulation, and to provide the same information to other competent authorities, as well as EBA, ESMA or EIOPA to fulfil their obligations to cooperate for the purposes of this Regulation.