CHAPTER VI POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND SUPERVISION

SECTION 4 Sanctions

Article 58

1.Member States shall ensure that obliged entities can be held liable for breaches of national provisions transposing this Directive in accordance with this Article and Articles 59 to 61. Any resulting sanction or measure shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

2.Without prejudice to the right of Member States to provide for and impose criminal sanctions, Member States shall lay down rules on administrative sanctions and measures and ensure that their competent authorities may impose such sanctions and measures with respect to breaches of the national provisions transposing this Directive, and shall ensure that they are applied.

Member States may decide not to lay down rules for administrative sanctions or measures for breaches which are subject to criminal sanctions in their national law. In that case, Member States shall communicate to the Commission the relevant criminal law provisions.

3.Member States shall ensure that where obligations apply to legal persons in the event of a breach of national provisions transposing this Directive, sanctions and measures can be applied to the members of the management body and to other natural persons who under national law are responsible for the breach.

4.Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities have all the supervisory and investigatory powers that are necessary for the exercise of their functions.

5.Competent authorities shall exercise their powers to impose administrative sanctions and measures in accordance with this Directive, and with national law, in any of the following ways:

(a)directly;

(b)in collaboration with other authorities;

(c)under their responsibility by delegation to such other authorities;

(d)by application to the competent judicial authorities.

In the exercise of their powers to impose administrative sanctions and measures, competent authorities shall cooperate closely in order to ensure that those administrative sanctions or measures produce the desired results and coordinate their action when dealing with cross-border cases.