Article 12

Director 1. The Office shall be headed by a Director nominated by the Commission for a term of five years, which may be renewed once. 2. With a view to appointing the Director, the Commission shall, following a call for applications which shall, if appropriate, be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities and after a favourable opinion has been given by the Supervisory Committee, draw up a list of suitably qualified candidates. After consultations with the European Parliament and the Council, the Commission shall appoint the Director. 3. The Director shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or any institution, body, office or agency in the performance of his duties with regard to the opening and carrying out of external and internal investigations or to the drafting of reports following such investigations. If the Director considers that a measure taken by the Commission calls his independence into question, he shall be entitled to bring an action against his institution before the Court of Justice. The Director shall report regularly to the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Court of Auditors on the findings of investigations carried out by the Office, whilst respecting the confidentiality of those investigations, the legitimate rights of the persons concerned and, where appropriate, national provisions applicable to judicial proceedings. The above institutions shall ensure that the confidentiality of the investigations conducted by the Office is respected, together with the legitimate rights of the persons concerned, and, where judicial proceedings have been instituted, that all national provisions applicable to such proceedings have been adhered to. 4. Before adopting any disciplinary sanction against the Director, the Commission shall consult the Supervisory Committee. In addition, measures relating to disciplinary sanctions against the Director must be the subject of reasoned decisions, which shall be forwarded for information to the European Parliament and to the Council.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-29 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.