Article 1 - Definitions

‘independent expert’ means a natural or a legal person which has no relationship that raises a conflict of interest regarding the SIPS or the SIPS operator or its controlling shareholders and has specific expertise in conducting investigations and reviews of financial market infrastructures with a focus on financial regulation, information systems and communication technology, risk management, financial reporting or auditing;

‘independent review’ means an evaluation of the operation of a SIPS the purpose of which is to provide: insight into any risks and vulnerabilities; assurance on the progress made by a SIPS operator to mitigate any risks and vulnerabilities; and validation of the effectiveness of a SIPS operator's policies, procedures and controls to mitigate any risks and vulnerabilities;

‘investigation’ means an examination and analysis of facts, documents, information and events, and an interpretation of the findings thereof, using known and commonly used investigative methods;

‘on-site inspection’ means an examination taking place at the location of the SIPS operator or at a relevant location related to the activities of a SIPS operator, including at the location of a critical service provider insofar as the contractual arrangements between the SIPS operator and that critical service provider allow for such an inspection, the purpose of which is to provide an in-depth analysis of, amongst other things, business models or governance, different risks and internal control systems;

‘on-site inspection team’ means a group of experts from the competent authority or its delegate or, as the case may be, another Eurosystem central bank, led by a head of team, the purpose of which is to conduct an on-site inspection;

‘critical service provider’ means a service provider that has a direct contractual arrangement with a SIPS operator to provide, on a continuous basis, services to that SIPS operator, and potentially to the participants in the SIPS, which are essential for ensuring information confidentiality and integrity and service availability, as well as the smooth functioning of the core operations of the SIPS;

‘another authority’ means an authority responsible for oversight of a SIPS, other than the competent authority or the central banks overseeing or supervising the critical service providers of a SIPS, to which the power of conducting on-site inspections may be delegated.