CHAPTER V

ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

Investigation procedure
Article 23
1
An accident or incident referred to in Article 20 shall be investigated by the investigating body of the Member State in which it occurred. If it is not possible to establish in which Member State it occurred or if it occurred on or close to a border installation between two Member States, the relevant investigating bodies shall agree which of them is to carry out the investigation or agree to carry it out in cooperation with each other. The other investigating body shall, in the first case, be allowed to participate in the investigation and fully share its results.
Investigating bodies from other Member States shall be invited, if appropriate, to participate in an investigation where:
a
a railway undertaking established and licensed in one of those Member States is involved in the accident or incident; or
b
a vehicle registered or maintained in one of those Member States is involved in the accident or incident.
Investigating bodies from invited Member States shall be provided with the powers necessary to enable them, when requested, to assist in the collection of evidence for another Member State's investigating body.
Investigating bodies from invited Member States shall be provided with access to the information and evidence necessary to enable them to participate effectively in the investigation with due respect for national laws relating to judicial proceedings.
This paragraph shall not preclude Member States from agreeing that the relevant bodies shall carry out investigations in cooperation with each other in other circumstances.
2
For each accident or incident the body responsible for the investigation shall arrange for the appropriate means, comprising the necessary operational and technical expertise, to carry out the investigation. The expertise may be obtained from inside or outside the body, depending on the character of the accident or incident to be investigated.
3
The investigation shall be carried out with as much openness as possible, so that all parties can be heard and can share the results. The relevant infrastructure manager and railway undertakings, the national safety authority, the Agency, victims and their relatives, owners of damaged property, manufacturers, the emergency services involved and representatives of staff and users shall be given an opportunity to provide relevant technical information in order to improve the quality of the investigation report. The investigating body shall also take account of the reasonable needs of the victims and their relatives and keep them informed of the progress made in the investigation.
4
The investigating body shall conclude its examinations at the accident site in the shortest possible time in order to enable the infrastructure manager to restore the infrastructure and open it to rail transport services as soon as possible.