General principles for transfers of personal data
Article 35
1. Member States shall provide for any transfer by competent authorities of personal data which are undergoing processing or are intended for processing after transfer to a third country or to an international organisation including for onward transfers to another third country or international organisation to take place, subject to compliance with the national provisions adopted pursuant to other provisions of this Directive, only where the conditions laid down in this Chapter are met, namely: (a) the transfer is necessary for the purposes set out in Article 1(1); (b) the personal data are transferred to a controller in a third country or international organisation that is an authority competent for the purposes referred to in Article 1(1); (c) where personal data are transmitted or made available from another Member State, that Member State has given its prior authorisation to the transfer in accordance with its national law; (d) the Commission has adopted an adequacy decision pursuant to Article 36, or, in the absence of such a decision, appropriate safeguards have been provided or exist pursuant to Article 37, or, in the absence of an adequacy decision pursuant to Article 36 and of appropriate safeguards in accordance with Article 37, derogations for specific situations apply pursuant to Article 38; and (e) in the case of an onward transfer to another third country or international organisation, the competent authority that carried out the original transfer or another competent authority of the same Member State authorises the onward transfer, after taking into due account all relevant factors, including the seriousness of the criminal offence, the purpose for which the personal data was originally transferred and the level of personal data protection in the third country or an international organisation to which personal data are onward transferred. 2. Member States shall provide for transfers without the prior authorisation by another Member State in accordance with point (c) of paragraph 1 to be permitted only if the transfer of the personal data is necessary for the prevention of an immediate and serious threat to public security of a Member State or a third country or to essential interests of a Member State and the prior authorisation cannot be obtained in good time. The authority responsible for giving prior authorisation shall be informed without delay. 3. All provisions in this Chapter shall be applied in order to ensure that the level of protection of natural persons ensured by this Directive is not undermined.