Commentary on provisions of Act Section 4: Requests for information from Member States
This section enables the UK designated authority to send requests, for law enforcement purposes, to any EU Member State for conviction information on any individual held in their criminal records database and imposes a duty on the UK designated authority to request such conviction information when requested by an EU national. The power is created by subsection (1) and the duty arises under subsection (2).
	Subsection (1) creates a power for the UK designated authority to send requests for conviction information to any EU Member State for information relating to any overseas convictions of any individual held on their criminal records database for law enforcement purposes.
	Subsection (2) imposes a duty on the UK designated authority to make a request for conviction information to the relevant authority in the State of nationality, when an EU national requests their criminal record information from the UK designated authority.
	Subsection (3) provides that where a person who makes a request to the UK designated authority under subsection (2) has more than one nationality, the UK designated authority must make a request to every EU Member State of which the person is a national.
	Subsection (4) sets out how the conviction information may be used once it is received. The information received may only be used for the purposes for which it was requested and subject to any limitations on use imposed by the EU Member State which transmitted the information.
	As an exception to subsection (4), subsection (5) provides that the information can be used to prevent a serious and immediate threat to public security.
	Subsection (6) defines "overseas conviction" as a conviction under the law of a country or territory which is not the UK.