Article 21
Cooperation with competent authorities

The text

What it requires, coded

SafeLegalAI's reading of each duty in this article: who, what, from when, under which fine tier, and whether it reaches a firm, chambers, court or legal-AI vendor. Descriptive, not advice; the quoted words are the Regulation's.

1. Art. 21(1)Cooperation with authoritiesHigh-risklegal practice

   Providers must, upon reasoned request, give competent authorities all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate Section 2 conformity in an easily understood official Union language indicated by the Member State.

   "Providers of high-risk AI systems shall, upon a reasoned request by a competent authority, provide that authority all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the high-risk AI system with the requirements set out in Section 2, in a language which can be easily understood by the authority in one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union as indicated by the Member"

   Who

   Provider, National competent authority

   From

   2027-12-02 (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), Art. 1(40), amending Art. 113(c)(i): Art. 6(2)/Annex III high-risk)As enacted in 2024: 2026-08-02 (Art. 113 second subparagraph); deferred by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI).Art. 111(2): high-risk AI systems placed on the market or put into service before 2026-08-02 are covered only if they are subject to significant design changes from that date; providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems intended for public authorities must take necessary steps to comply by 2030-08-02. Art. 113(c) separately applies Article 6(1) and corresponding obligations from 2027-08-02. Date deferred by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (in force 27 July 2026); as enacted: 2026-08-02 (Art. 113 second subparagraph).

   Fine tier

   Art. 99(4)

   Legal practice

   Reaches legal practice directly — Legal-AI vendors may need authority-ready documentation for systems used by courts, public bodies or regulated legal contexts.

   See

   Chapter III Section 2

2. Art. 21(2)Cooperation with authoritiesHigh-risklegal practice

   Providers must, upon reasoned request, give competent authorities access to automatically generated logs to the extent those logs are under provider control.

   "Upon a reasoned request by a competent authority, providers shall also give the requesting competent authority, as applicable, access to the automatically generated logs of the high-risk AI system referred to in Article 12(1), to the extent such logs are under their control."

   Who

   Provider, National competent authority

   From

   2027-12-02 (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), Art. 1(40), amending Art. 113(c)(i): Art. 6(2)/Annex III high-risk)As enacted in 2024: 2026-08-02 (Art. 113 second subparagraph); deferred by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI).Art. 111(2): high-risk AI systems placed on the market or put into service before 2026-08-02 are covered only if they are subject to significant design changes from that date; providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems intended for public authorities must take necessary steps to comply by 2030-08-02. Art. 113(c) separately applies Article 6(1) and corresponding obligations from 2027-08-02. Date deferred by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (in force 27 July 2026); as enacted: 2026-08-02 (Art. 113 second subparagraph).

   Fine tier

   Art. 99(4)

   Legal practice

   Reaches legal practice directly — Legal-AI vendors controlling logs may need to provide them for authority review of high-risk legal AI systems.

   See

   Art. 12(1)

3. Art. 21(3)Cooperation with authoritiesHigh-risk

   Competent authorities must treat information obtained under Article 21 in accordance with Article 78 confidentiality obligations.

   "Any information obtained by a competent authority pursuant to this Article shall be treated in accordance with the confidentiality obligations set out in Article 78."

   Who

   National competent authority

   From

   2027-12-02 (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI), Art. 1(40), amending Art. 113(c)(i): Art. 6(2)/Annex III high-risk)As enacted in 2024: 2026-08-02 (Art. 113 second subparagraph); deferred by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (Digital Omnibus on AI).Art. 111(2): high-risk AI systems placed on the market or put into service before 2026-08-02 are covered only if they are subject to significant design changes from that date; providers and deployers of high-risk AI systems intended for public authorities must take necessary steps to comply by 2030-08-02. Art. 113(c) separately applies Article 6(1) and corresponding obligations from 2027-08-02. Date deferred by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (in force 27 July 2026); as enacted: 2026-08-02 (Art. 113 second subparagraph).

   Legal practice

   Reaches legal-AI vendors or public bodies — Important where legal-AI documentation or logs include privileged, confidential or commercially sensitive legal-sector information.

   See

   Art. 78