Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 lays down the legal framework for the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products for human use in the Union to ensure that the rights, safety and well-being of the subjects are protected, and the data generated in clinical trials are robust and reliable. In particular, the sponsor of a clinical trial and the investigator are to ensure that the clinical trial is conducted in accordance with the relevant protocol and the principles of good clinical practice. Compliance with the applicable legal requirements, the protocol and the principles of good clinical practice, including with standards relating to data integrity and ethical conduct of the clinical trial, is to be verified by means of inspections conducted under the responsibility of the Member State where the inspection takes place.

The inspection in the context of clinical trials may concern good manufacturing practices as regards the manufacturing of the investigational medicinal products or good clinical practice as regards the conduct of clinical trials. Article 63 of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts specifying the detailed arrangements for good manufacturing practice inspections as regards investigational medicinal products. Therefore, this Regulation should only lay down detailed arrangements for good clinical practice inspections procedures and requirements regarding training and qualifications of good clinical practice inspectors.

Member States may conduct inspections of clinical trials performed in third countries, either because a clinical trial is related to a clinical trial authorised in the Union or because the data of the clinical trial is being referred to in a clinical trial authorisation application in the Union. Those inspections should allow verifying whether such clinical trials were conducted in accordance with standards equivalent to Union standards. Inspections of clinical trials in third countries may also be conducted in order to verify whether the clinical trials, whose results are referred to in marketing authorisation applications in the Union, meet the ethical requirements set out in Regulation (EU) No 536/2014. Therefore, provisions on detailed arrangements for the inspection procedures should apply also to inspections conducted outside the Union in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 536/2014.

The International Conference on Harmonisation (‘ICH’) reached a consensus in 1995 to provide a harmonised approach for good clinical practice. Pursuant to Article 47 of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014, the ICH guidelines should be appropriately taken into account by the sponsor when drafting the clinical trial protocol and conducting the clinical trial. To the extent that those guidelines are compatible with the relevant Union law and EU guidelines, inspectors should refer to the ICH guidelines, taking into account the characteristics of each trial.

Member States should be required to set up quality systems to ensure that the inspection procedures are observed and consistently monitored. A well-functioning quality system should comprise an organisational structure, clear processes and procedures, including the standard operating procedures to be followed by inspectors when performing their tasks, clearly defined details of the inspectors' duties and responsibilities and ongoing training requirements, as well as adequate resources and mechanisms which aim at eliminating non-compliance.

It is necessary to enable inspectors to ensure the practical effectiveness of provisions on good clinical practice. That objective should be reflected in the minimum requirements for the qualification of inspectors, in particular as regards their education and training. For the same reasons, detailed rules on inspection procedures should be laid down.

In order to safeguard the effectiveness of inspection, the inspectors should be granted the necessary powers of access to the premises and data. This includes in particular any laboratory used for analysis in the clinical trial, any contract research organisation's facilities or the sponsor's premises. They should also be empowered to contact the trial subjects in justified cases.

In order to ensure the compliance with arrangements for good clinical practice inspections and in accordance with Article 77 of Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 Member States should take corrective measures if necessary. When during an inspection a major non-compliance or breach is identified, or the inspectors' investigatory powers are not recognised by the sponsors, Member States should have recourse to penalties.

This Regulation should become applicable at the same time as Regulation (EU) No 536/2014.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Medicinal Products for Human Use,