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Regulation Tracker / EU AI Act / Chapter IX · Section 4

Article 86
Right to explanation of individual decision-making

Chapter IX — Post-market monitoring by providers and post-market monitoring plan for high-risk AI systems, Section 4 — Right to lodge a complaint with a market surveillance authority. 3 distinct duties, powers or definitions are coded from this article, applying from 2026-08-02. 2 reach legal practice directly.

official text: EUR-Lex (consolidated 27 Jul 2026) · text © European Union (Decision 2011/833/EU) · coding CC BY 4.0 · data: obligations.json · Hugging Face · GitHub

The text

1. Any affected person subject to a decision which is taken by the deployer on the basis of the output from a high-risk AI system listed in Annex III, with the exception of systems listed under point 2 thereof, and which produces legal effects or similarly significantly affects that person in a way that they consider to have an adverse impact on their health, safety or fundamental rights shall have the right to obtain from the deployer clear and meaningful explanations of the role of the AI system in the decision-making procedure and the main elements of the decision taken.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the use of AI systems for which exceptions from, or restrictions to, the obligation under that paragraph follow from Union or national law in compliance with Union law.

3. This Article shall apply only to the extent that the right referred to in paragraph 1 is not otherwise provided for under Union law.

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. 86(1)Right of personHigh-risklegal practice

    Affected persons subject to certain deployer decisions based on Annex III high-risk AI outputs with legal or similarly significant effects have a right to clear and meaningful explanations.

    "shall have the right to obtain from the deployer clear and meaningful explanations of the role of the AI system in the decision-making procedure"
    Who
    Natural person, Deployer
    From
    (Art. 113 second subparagraph)
    Legal practice
    Reaches legal practice directly — This is directly relevant where legal or public-authority decisions use high-risk AI outputs.
    See
    Annex III · Art. 86(3)

  2. Art. 86(2)Derogation or exemptionHigh-risklegal practice

    The explanation right does not apply where Union or national law, in compliance with Union law, provides exceptions or restrictions to that obligation.

    "Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the use of AI systems for which exceptions from, or restrictions to, the obligation under that paragraph follow from Union or national law"
    Who
    Deployer, Natural person
    From
    (Art. 113 second subparagraph)
    Legal practice
    Reaches legal practice directly — Legal decision-making contexts may have Union or national-law limits on explanations.
    See
    Art. 86(1)

  3. Art. 86(3)Derogation or exemptionHigh-risk

    Article 86 applies only to the extent the same explanation right is not otherwise provided under Union law.

    "This Article shall apply only to the extent that the right referred to in paragraph 1 is not otherwise provided for under Union law."
    Who
    Natural person, Deployer
    From
    (Art. 113 second subparagraph)
    Legal practice
    Reaches legal-AI vendors or public bodies — The Article 86 right coexists with other Union-law explanation or information rights.
    See
    Art. 86(1)

Cite

Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 86 (Right to explanation of individual decision-making), as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, consolidated text of 27 July 2026, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/2026-07-27/eng#art_86 — text © European Union; only the Official Journal is authentic. Coding: SafeLegalAI (published by Cognesio LLP), "EU AI Act, structured", safelegalai.com/regulation/eu-ai-act/article-86, accessed 2026-09-08, CC BY 4.0.