Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

SECTION 3 U.K. Qualified trust services

Article 20 U.K. Supervision of qualified trust service providers

1. Qualified trust service providers shall be audited at their own expense at least every 24 months by a conformity assessment body. The purpose of the audit shall be to confirm that the qualified trust service providers and the qualified trust services provided by them fulfil the requirements laid down in this Regulation. The qualified trust service providers shall submit the resulting conformity assessment report to the supervisory body within the period of three working days after receiving it.

2. Without prejudice to paragraph 1, the supervisory body may at any time audit or request a conformity assessment body to perform a conformity assessment of the qualified trust service providers, at the expense of those trust service providers, to confirm that they and the qualified trust services provided by them fulfil the requirements laid down in this Regulation. Where personal data protection rules appear to have been breached, the supervisory body shall inform the data protection authorities of the results of its audits.

3. Where the supervisory body requires the qualified trust service provider to remedy any failure to fulfil requirements under this Regulation and where that provider does not act accordingly, and if applicable within a time limit set by the supervisory body, the supervisory body, taking into account, in particular, the extent, duration and consequences of that failure, may withdraw the qualified status of that provider or of the affected service it provides and inform the body referred to in Article 22(3) for the purposes of updating the trusted lists referred to in Article 22(1). The supervisory body shall inform the qualified trust service provider of the withdrawal of its qualified status or of the qualified status of the service concerned.

4. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, establish reference number of the following standards:

(a) accreditation of the conformity assessment bodies and for the conformity assessment report referred to in paragraph 1;

(b) auditing rules under which conformity assessment bodies will carry out their conformity assessment of the qualified trust service providers as referred to in paragraph 1.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(2).

Article 21 U.K. Initiation of a qualified trust service

1. Where trust service providers, without qualified status, intend to start providing qualified trust services, they shall submit to the supervisory body a notification of their intention together with a conformity assessment report issued by a conformity assessment body.

2. The supervisory body shall verify whether the trust service provider and the trust services provided by it comply with the requirements laid down in this Regulation, and in particular, with the requirements for qualified trust service providers and for the qualified trust services they provide.

If the supervisory body concludes that the trust service provider and the trust services provided by it comply with the requirements referred to in the first subparagraph, the supervisory body shall grant qualified status to the trust service provider and the trust services it provides and inform the body referred to in Article 22(3) for the purposes of updating the trusted lists referred to in Article 22(1), not later than three months after notification in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.

If the verification is not concluded within three months of notification, the supervisory body shall inform the trust service provider specifying the reasons for the delay and the period within which the verification is to be concluded.

3. Qualified trust service providers may begin to provide the qualified trust service after the qualified status has been indicated in the trusted lists referred to in Article 22(1).

4. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, define the formats and procedures for the purpose of paragraphs 1 and 2. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(2).

Article 22 U.K. Trusted lists

1. Each Member State shall establish, maintain and publish trusted lists, including information related to the qualified trust service providers for which it is responsible, together with information related to the qualified trust services provided by them.

2. Member States shall establish, maintain and publish, in a secured manner, the electronically signed or sealed trusted lists referred to in paragraph 1 in a form suitable for automated processing.

3. Member States shall notify to the Commission, without undue delay, information on the body responsible for establishing, maintaining and publishing national trusted lists, and details of where such lists are published, the certificates used to sign or seal the trusted lists and any changes thereto.

4. The Commission shall make available to the public, through a secure channel, the information referred to in paragraph 3 in electronically signed or sealed form suitable for automated processing.

5. By 18 September 2015 the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, specify the information referred to in paragraph 1 and define the technical specifications and formats for trusted lists applicable for the purposes of paragraphs 1 to 4. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(2).

Article 23 U.K. EU trust mark for qualified trust services

1. After the qualified status referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 21(2) has been indicated in the trusted list referred to in Article 22(1), qualified trust service providers may use the EU trust mark to indicate in a simple, recognisable and clear manner the qualified trust services they provide.

2. When using the EU trust mark for the qualified trust services referred to in paragraph 1, qualified trust service providers shall ensure that a link to the relevant trusted list is made available on their website.

3. By 1 July 2015 the Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, provide for specifications with regard to the form, and in particular the presentation, composition, size and design of the EU trust mark for qualified trust services. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(2).

Article 24 U.K. Requirements for qualified trust service providers

1. When issuing a qualified certificate for a trust service, a qualified trust service provider shall verify, by appropriate means and in accordance with national law, the identity and, if applicable, any specific attributes of the natural or legal person to whom the qualified certificate is issued.

The information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be verified by the qualified trust service provider either directly or by relying on a third party in accordance with national law:

(a) by the physical presence of the natural person or of an authorised representative of the legal person; or

(b) remotely, using electronic identification means, for which prior to the issuance of the qualified certificate, a physical presence of the natural person or of an authorised representative of the legal person was ensured and which meets the requirements set out in Article 8 with regard to the assurance levels ‘substantial’ or ‘high’; or

(c) by means of a certificate of a qualified electronic signature or of a qualified electronic seal issued in compliance with point (a) or (b); or

(d) by using other identification methods recognised at national level which provide equivalent assurance in terms of reliability to physical presence. The equivalent assurance shall be confirmed by a conformity assessment body.

2. A qualified trust service provider providing qualified trust services shall:

(a) inform the supervisory body of any change in the provision of its qualified trust services and an intention to cease those activities;

(b) employ staff and, if applicable, subcontractors who possess the necessary expertise, reliability, experience, and qualifications and who have received appropriate training regarding security and personal data protection rules and shall apply administrative and management procedures which correspond to European or international standards;

(c) with regard to the risk of liability for damages in accordance with Article 13, maintain sufficient financial resources and/or obtain appropriate liability insurance, in accordance with national law;

(d) before entering into a contractual relationship, inform, in a clear and comprehensive manner, any person seeking to use a qualified trust service of the precise terms and conditions regarding the use of that service, including any limitations on its use;

(e) use trustworthy systems and products that are protected against modification and ensure the technical security and reliability of the processes supported by them;

(f) use trustworthy systems to store data provided to it, in a verifiable form so that:

(i)

they are publicly available for retrieval only where the consent of the person to whom the data relates has been obtained,

(ii)

only authorised persons can make entries and changes to the stored data,

(iii)

the data can be checked for authenticity;

(g) take appropriate measures against forgery and theft of data;

(h) record and keep accessible for an appropriate period of time, including after the activities of the qualified trust service provider have ceased, all relevant information concerning data issued and received by the qualified trust service provider, in particular, for the purpose of providing evidence in legal proceedings and for the purpose of ensuring continuity of the service. Such recording may be done electronically;

(i) have an up-to-date termination plan to ensure continuity of service in accordance with provisions verified by the supervisory body under point (i) of Article 17(4);

(j) ensure lawful processing of personal data in accordance with Directive 95/46/EC;

(k) in case of qualified trust service providers issuing qualified certificates, establish and keep updated a certificate database.

3. If a qualified trust service provider issuing qualified certificates decides to revoke a certificate, it shall register such revocation in its certificate database and publish the revocation status of the certificate in a timely manner, and in any event within 24 hours after the receipt of the request. The revocation shall become effective immediately upon its publication.

4. With regard to paragraph 3, qualified trust service providers issuing qualified certificates shall provide to any relying party information on the validity or revocation status of qualified certificates issued by them. This information shall be made available at least on a per certificate basis at any time and beyond the validity period of the certificate in an automated manner that is reliable, free of charge and efficient.

5. The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, establish reference numbers of standards for trustworthy systems and products, which comply with the requirements under points (e) and (f) of paragraph 2 of this Article. Compliance with the requirements laid down in this Article shall be presumed where trustworthy systems and products meet those standards. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 48(2).