Recital 10

(10) Conduct should be unlawful even where it is carried out under an authorisation issued by a competent authority of a Member State if such authorisation was obtained fraudulently or by corruption, extortion or coercion. Furthermore, holding such an authorisation should not preclude the holder from being held criminally liable, where the authorisation is in manifest breach of relevant substantive legal requirements. ‘In manifest breach of relevant substantive legal requirements’ should be interpreted as referring to an obvious and substantial breach of relevant substantive legal requirements, and is not intended to include breaches of procedural requirements or minor elements of the authorisation. This does not shift the duty to ensure that authorisations are lawful from competent authorities to operators. Moreover, where an authorisation is required, the fact that the authorisation is lawful does not preclude criminal proceedings against the holder of the authorisation where that holder does not comply with all obligations of the authorisation or with other relevant legal obligations not covered by the authorisation.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-09-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.