{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2019-339/article-4",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2019-339/article-4.json",
  "legislation": "eudn/2019/339",
  "legislation_title": "Decision (EU) 2019/339 of the President of the European Commission of 21 February 2019 on the function and terms of reference of the hearing officer in certain trade proceedings",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-decision-2019-339",
  "path": "article/4",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "4",
  "heading": "Principles of intervention of the hearing officer",
  "text": "1. The duties of the hearing officer shall be carried out in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 11.\n2. The hearing officer shall act independently and shall not take instructions in fulfilling their tasks.\n3. The hearing officer shall be bound by the rules of the Staff Regulations prohibiting unauthorised disclosure of information received in the line of duty and shall continue to be bound by that obligation after leaving the service.\n4. The hearing officer shall take account of the need for effective application of the basic Regulations in accordance with Union law and the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.\n5. The hearing officer shall have access without restriction and undue delay to any files pertaining to a trade proceeding at any time of the proceeding.\n6. The hearing officer shall make decisions as provided for in Articles 12 to 16 and may make recommendations to the Commission services responsible for the investigation on any issue concerning the rights of the interested parties who have requested the intervention of the hearing officer. The hearing officer shall seek to ensure that in the preparation of draft legal acts or proposals to the Commission, due account is taken of all the relevant facts, whether favourable or unfavourable to the parties concerned.\n7. The hearing officer shall be kept informed by the Director responsible or their delegate about the development of all proceedings in which the hearing officer has intervened until the adoption of a final legal act.\n8. The hearing officer shall be informed without delay of any substantial change of the Commission's position at the stage of imposition of definitive measures in trade proceedings in order to assess any potential impact on the rights of the interested parties.\n9. The hearing officer shall advise the member of the Commission responsible for trade policy and, where appropriate, the Director-General, concerning the follow-up of the hearing officer's recommendations and, where necessary, on possible remedies.\n10. The Director responsible shall consult the hearing office on any changes or updates of policy regarding procedural matters and substantive issues having an impact on the rights of the interested parties or on any other issue arising from a trade proceeding.\n11. The hearing officer may present observations and recommendations on any matter arising out of a trade proceeding to the member of the Commission responsible for trade policy and, where necessary, the Director-General.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudn/2019/339/article/4",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:12:48.806143+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}