GENERAL PART

Section I. Offices Providing SCP Services
Section II. Filing of Requests for Services
Section III. Acceptance and Processing of Request for Service

Section I. Offices Providing SCP Services

Article 11. SCP Head Office

Article 12. SCP Information Centre

1. Services connected with the registration of securities are provided by the SCP through the network of SCP Offices.
2. SCP Offices are divided as follows:
   
   • Basic Offices,
   • Specialized Offices,
   • Correspondence Office.
3. Entitled users may file their requests for services through Basic Offices, usually named as "SCP Counters", unless it is determined by these Operation Rules that certain requests for services must be filed through a certain Specialized Office.
4. Specialized Offices supply certain special types of SCP services or SCP services for a certain special category of users. Services provided by Specialized Offices include, without limitation:
   
   • services for competent state authorities,
   • services connected with the opening of an issuer register and with the registration of a new title of securities, with changes therein and cancellation thereof,
   • services carried out under a special agreement concluded between the SCP and a user thereof.
5. The Correspondence Office ensures a limited range of services whose current survey and filing conditions are published at Basic Offices, at the Information Centre, and on the SCP web-server. Written requests for the provision of services sent to the Correspondence Office must bear an officially authenticated signature of the person filing the request.
6. Basic and Specialized Offices are established by the SCP in accordance with its operating requirements and possibilities. Their network, working hours, and the range of SCP services provided by them is determined by a decision of the SCP Managing Director. Such decision as well as any changes therein and amendments thereof must be published through operating Offices providing SCP services not later than 15 days prior to their effective date.
7. The SCP has the right to limit, due to operational reasons, the range of SCP services supplied by a certain Office, or, possibly, close it down temporarily.
8. The list of the SCP Offices, their working hours, services provided, and specific conditions of the supply thereof are set down by a decision of the Managing Director.

Article 13. Information Centre

1. General information for capital market is provided by the SCP through its Information Centre located at Prague 1, U Půjčovny 2.
2. If not stipulated otherwise, general information for capital market is posted up for public inspection at the Information Centre, or may be inspected under the conditions stipulated in the Rules of the Public Information Library (hereinafter only "Library Rules"). Copies of and extracts from such information are provided by the SCP at a price listed in the respective item of the SCP services price list.
3. The Information Centre does not provide any services connected with the keeping of registers of securities and their owners.  

Section II. Filing of Requests for Services

Article 14. Where to File Request for Service

1. A user of services may file his request for SCP services connected with the registration of securities with any SCP Office providing the requested service, unless stipulated otherwise in these Operation Rules, or unless set down otherwise in the contract concluded between the service user and the SCP.
2. Competent state authorities may file their requests for SCP services only in writing through a Specialized Office, except for requests regarding the current balance of a certain owner’s account, which can also be filed through SCP Basic Offices.
3. Requests for the opening of an issuer’s register, including requests for changes in the registered data regarding the issuer and requests for the registration of titles of securities issued by him, may only be filed through a Specialized Office under a special contract between the service user and the SCP.

Article 15. Person Filing Request for Service

1. An entitled user may file a request for service either in person, or through a statutory authority, or through a representative, who may be:
   
   • a legal representative in case that the service user is a natural person who is under age or not qualified to perform legal acts,
   • a legal representative of another type,
   • an authorized representative of the service user on the basis of a power of attorney.
2. A natural person filing a request for SCP service (hereinafter only "person filing a request for service") must be of age and qualified to perform legal acts.
3. A person filing a request for service is obliged to prove to the SCP in the manner stipulated in these Operation Rules:
   
   • his identity,
   • his authorization to act on behalf of the service user in whose name he or she requests SCP services,
   • the respective user’s right to request the respective service.

Article 16. Form and Manner of Filing Request for Service

1. Requests for services shall be filed:
   
   • in writing
     1. in person on a pre-printed entry form issued by the SCP and relating to the requested service (hereinafter only "pre- printed form"), the Correspondence Office accepts requests mailed by post,
     2. in a manner prescribed by special laws applying to service of official documents if the person requesting such service is a competent state authority,
   • in the form of data entry items if such manner of filing of requests for services ispermitted by a contract with the SCP; the conditions for the conclusion of such contracts are specified in the decision of the SCP Managing Director.
2. The manner of filing requests for services in the form stipulated in paragraph 1, letter a) is determined by these Operation Rules. The manner of filing requests for services in the form stipulated in paragraph 1, letter b) shall be determined in a contract concluded between the SCP and the respective user of its services.
3. The printed forms referred to under paragraph 1, letter a), including the codes and numerical clauses used therein, shall be determined by a decision of the Managing Director. Printed forms that are currently in force are available at SCP Offices.
4. A single printed form is usually used for filing a single request for the provision of a single SCP service; however, it can also be used, in accordance with the pre-printed directions or instructions included therein, for:
   
   • simultaneous filing of requests for more services of the same type,
   • filing requests for repeated provision of the same service.
5. Printed forms shall be filled in duplicate (with a carbon copy); the original serves the purpose of processing of the request for SCP service, while the copy serves as a proof that the request for service had been filed. In mailing requests for services by post, only the original shall be mailed.
6. The printed form must be duly filled in accordance with the pre-printed directions or instructions, and duly signed by the person filing the request for service.

Article 17. Order of Handling Filed Requests for Services

1. Requests for services are accepted by SCP Offices in the order in which the persons filing requests for services appear at the given SCP Office. With respect to services whose provision requires co-operation of more persons, the keeping of their order of priority depends on the simultaneous presence of those persons at the time when the request for service is being filed. Head of the given SCP Office may adopt necessary organizational or technical measures for determining the order of persons filing requests of services.
2. An SCP Office shall accept only one printed form containing requests for services from a person at one turn, except for requests for services exercising a court decision or decision of another state authority; in such cases, all requests for services connected with a single decision shall be accepted simultaneously. Head of an SCP Office has the right to increase, according to the existing operating possibilities, the number of requests for services accepted simultaneously if it does not lead to a disproportionate extension of the waiting time for other persons filing requests for services, or may set a time for a specific person to file his or her requests for services.
3. The following matters may be handled off the order:
   
   • provision of results of processed requests for services accepted earlier,
   • acceptance of complaints regarding SCP services,
   • acceptance of technical data carriers with data entry items from service users with whom the SCP has concluded a contract on such manner of filing requests for services,
   • acceptance of requests for services from persons who have been assigned in advance, for operating reasons, a specific hour on which their requests for services under paragraph 2 would be accepted.
4. A person whose request for service filed earlier has been dismissed due to defects shall be given no priority before other persons filing requests for services and shall be considered a newcomer.

Article 18. Documents Attached to Request for Service

1. Each request for services shall be accompanied with documents stipulated by law ³²⁾ and by the pertinent provisions of these Operation Rules applying to such service.
2. Unless stipulated otherwise by the Securities Act or these Operation Rules, such documents must be in original. Documents written in a foreign language (except for Slovak) must be translated into the Czech language with an attached official certificate of the accuracy of the translation issued by a sworn interpreter-translator accredited in the Czech Republic ³³⁾.
3. Authentication of signatures and attestation of documents performed abroad must be superlegalized ³⁴⁾, unless stipulated otherwise by a valid international agreement concluded between the Czech Republic and the respective state. In public documents issued in a state that signed, or acceded to, the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of 5 October 1961 ³⁵⁾ it will only be sufficient to attach the so-called "Apostille Rider" confirming the authenticity of the signature, the authorization of a respective person to sign the document, and if necessary, the genuineness of the seal or stamp affixed thereto. The attachment of the so-called "Apostille Rider" shall not be required if the abolishment or simplification of such act, or the exemption of the given document from the legalisation duty ensues from another international agreement.
4. A list of all documents attached shall be inserted in the appropriate column of the printed form on which the request for service is filed.

Article 19. Identification of Person Filing Request for Service

1. Each person filing request for service is obligated to prove to the SCP his or her identity with a valid proof of identity submitted to the SCP for inspection when the request for service is filed. At the Correspondence Office, the identification of the person filing the request for service shall be proved in a manner described in Article 12, paragraph 5, second sentence, of these Operation Rules.
2. For the purposes of these Operation Rules, a proof of identity means:
   
   • an identity card in case of a citizen of the Czech Republic, or a passport if the respective citizen has his permanent residence abroad,
   • only a passport in case of foreign natural persons.
3. If the birth identification number is not stated in the valid identity card, the respective person filing a request for service must also produce for inspection a document on the assignment of a birth identification number, or provide a substitute identification number assigned to him at his registration as an SCP service user under Article 9 of these Operation Rules.
4. If an SCP-registered securities owner is unable to prove his identity because of the loss or theft of his identity card, the SCP shall allow him, on the basis of a valid identity card certificate, to register at his request the suspension of the exercise of the right to dispose of the securities on his account ³⁶⁾ for the period of validity of the identity card certificate ³⁷⁾.
5. Exceptions from the provisions of the aforementioned paragraphs may be granted by the SCP Managing Director in cases worthy of special consideration and on the basis of a written request.

Article 20. Proof of Authorization of Person Filing Request for Service

1. In addition to documenting his identity, each person filing a request for service must prove that he is authorized to request such SCP service.
2. Such authorization shall be deemed to have been proved if the person filing a request for service is a holder of a valid identity card of the appropriate type issued by the SCP and the SCP service is provided on the basis of such identity card. The terms and conditions of issuance and use of identity cards are determined by a decision of the SCP Managing Director.
3. The authorization shall also be deemed to have been proved if it is evident, according to the submitted valid identity card, that:
   
   • the person filing the request for a service is a holder of the account to which such service applies, provided that the matter does not concern a special account or a card account referred to in the Special Part of these Operation Rules,
   • the person filing the request for a service is a person whose authorization to request the respective services concerning the owner’s account has been entered into the register kept by the SCP ³⁸⁾,
   • the person filing the request for a service connected with the registration of legal transfer of securities ³⁹⁾ is authorized by a valid court decision or another legally valid document on the basis of which the registration of legal transfer of securities is to be carried out,
   • the person filing a request for a service concerning the registration of the contractual right of pledge is the pledgee, pawner or pledgor under the submitted pledge agreement.
4. Procedures relating to all other cases are as follows:
   
   • a person or persons authorized to act and sign on behalf of a legal entity ⁴⁰⁾ (hereinafter as “statutory organ(s) of legal entity“) must prove, by an extract from the Commercial Register or another similar official register of legal entities ⁴¹⁾ not older than three months, or by an officially authenticated copy thereof, that he/she is (they are) authorized to act and sign on behalf of the said legal entity. In case of change of the statutory organ of legal entity, and if such change has not been entered yet in the Commercial Register or another similar official register of legal entities, the statutory organ(s) of legal entity may prove his/her (their) authorization to act and sign on behalf of the said legal entity at the Securities Centre in the following manner:
     
     • by a notarial record of negotiations conducted by the authorized organs of the respective legal entity with the designation of who and in what manner is authorized to act and sign on behalf of the said legal entity ⁴²⁾; attached to the request for service shall be an application for entry in the Commercial Register or another similar official register of legal entities with the confirmation of the receipt thereof by the respective organ (e.g., by the seal of the filing room of the respective organ); in case the changes of the statutory organ of a legal entity have not been recorded by a notarial record, it may be done by a declaration on the word of honour of each member of the statutory organ not yet registered in the Commercial Register, saying that he or she does not know about any facts attesting to the fact that the negotiations in consequence of which he or she became a member of the statutory organ might not have passed in accordance with the valid legal order, while his or her signature on such a declaration must be officially authenticated. Attached to such a declaration on the word of honour shall be the records of the relating negotiations and an application for the registration in the Commercial Register or another similar official register of legal entities with the confirmation of the receipt thereof by the respective organ (e.g., by the seal of the filing room of the respective organ), and
     • by the declaration of each member of the statutory organ of the respective legal entity bearing an officially authenticated signature, saying that at the time of the filing of request for SCP service such a member of the statutory organ knows or does not know that the decision by the entitled authority on the changes in the legal entity might have been judicially or otherwise by anyone contested.
     In case when a person not yet registered in the Commercial Register or in another similar official register of legal entities acts and signs on behalf of a legal entity, the Securities Centre shall postpone the request for service for a necessary period of time, yet not longer than for 30 calendar days, and it shall examine the authorization of persons, who have not been registered yet, to file request for service. If in the course of the examination doubts arise at the SCP about the authorization of persons so far not registered in the Commercial Register or in another similar official register of legal entities to act and sign on behalf of a legal entity, and such persons will not be able to prove in another manner and with sufficient credibility their authorization to act and sign at the SCP, they will not be accepted as persons authorized to act and sign on behalf of a legal entity at the SCP.
   • a legal representative of an under-age securities owner or a securities owner incapable of performing legal acts must prove the aforementioned legal relationship to the account holder; if he files an order for registration of transfer of securities from an account, or registration of pledge under a contract, he must also prove the consent of the court of competent jurisdiction ⁴³⁾,
   • a securities dealer or public market organizer (or a person engaged in the settlement of purchases and sales of securities) who files requests for SCP services which he may request from the SCP under the law, is obligated to prove, by an appropriate contract, that the account holder has authorized him to request the respective services ⁴⁴⁾. Such person is also obliged to attach the original or an officially authenticated copy of the contract to the printed form containing the request for service filed at an SCP Office. The client’s signature on such contract need not be officially authenticated if the securities dealer himself has verified the client’s identity in a trustworthy manner,
   • a proxy of an entitled user of services, acting on the basis of a power of attorney, must submit the original power of attorney with an officially authenticated signature of the donor thereof; an official authentication of the signature of the donor of the power of attorney shall be also required if the power of attorney is a part of the contract.
5. The SCP Managing Director shall determine by his decision ⁴⁵⁾ the details of documenting the authorization needed on filing requests for services, including the form and contents of powers of attorney authorizing to file requests for services.

Section III. Acceptance and Processing of Request for Service

Article 21. Initial Control of Request for Service

1. In each filed request for service, the SCP shall check conditions for the acceptance of such request that is to be processed therein (hereinafter only “initial control“). In requests for services filed in a printed form, initial control shall be performed in the presence of the person filing the request for service. The initial control includes, without limitation, the control of the particulars of the request for service in accordance with these Operation Rules.
2. The SCP Office clerk performing the initial control shall not be responsible for the correctness of the contents of the filed request for service. The SCP shall not bear responsibility for damage caused by an incorrect, incomplete or late filing of the request for service. The above shall not affect the responsibility of the service user, in accordance with general legal regulations, for damage caused by the incorrectness of the contents of the filed request for service.
3. If the initial control finds formal shortcomings in the completion of the printed form, which can be eliminated on the spot, the receiving clerk shall allow to make such corrections, even without the loss of order under Article 17 of these Operation Rules, unless it considerably restrains the other persons filing requests for services.

Article 22. Rejection of Request for Service

1. If the initial control finds shortcomings that cannot be immediately eliminated, particularly insufficiencies in documents that should be attached to the request for service, the SCP shall refuse to accept the request for service and shall return it to the person filing the request and notify him of all shortcomings that have been found. Requests rejected in such way shall be considered as not filed; SCP Offices do not keep any records of requests rejected as above.
2. If the person filing the request disagrees with the rejection of his request for services due to the shortcomings found during the initial control, he must immediately file a complaint about the SCP’s rejection to provide the requested service. Such complaint shall be accompanied by the original of the printed form containing the request for service and by all documents attached thereto which were submitted for the initial control. Copies of those documents may be made to the complainant at his request with an attached clause "Made Out According to the Original", with the filing date of the complaint, the number of SCP complaint sheet, and the signature of the clerk of the SCP Office and the seal thereof.

Article 23. Acceptance of Request for Service to Processing

1. If the initial control does not find any obvious shortcomings, the SCP shall accept the request for service for processing, determine a time limit for its processing and for the notification of the result thereof. If the time limit is not directly implied in the filed request for service, i.e., if no deadline for the provision of such service has been set, the time limit shall be determined by the receiving clerk adequately to the volume of necessary administrative procedures and to the volume of work necessary to process such request in the SCP.
2. The acceptance of a request for service for processing shall be confirmed by the SCP on the carbon copy of the printed form, which copy shall be returned to the person filing the request and shall contain the acceptance date of the request, its reference number, the time limit for the forwarding of the result of processing of the request, and the signature and seal of the clerk and the appropriate SCP Office.
3. The acceptance of a request for service for processing does not rule out, in justified cases, a later exclusion thereof from processing.

Article 24. Irrevocability of Accepted Request for Service

1. A request for service cannot be withdrawn after it had been accepted by an SCP Office for processing. An entry in the SCP register can be changed only by filing a new request for service; such request for service shall be considered as a separate SCP service as to the order of filing, control of the right of the person filing the request to request the service, time limit of processing, etc.
2. A request for the cancellation of a permanent request for a regularly repeated provision of a certain SCP service filed earlier shall not be deemed as a withdrawal of a request for service; such request shall also be considered as a separate SCP service, and the provision thereof shall be governed by applicable provisions of these Operation Rules.

Article 25. Processing of Request for Service

1. The SCP Office shall forward accepted requests for services to central processing without undue delay. 
2. All requests for services shall be processed in the same order in which they have been delivered to the SCP central register ⁴⁶⁾.
3. Processing of a request for service includes:
   • a check of formal correctness of the request, and exclusion of inappropriate requests for services 
   • a check whether the date set out for the provision of the service has already come, and possible postponement of the request for service to be implemented later, 
   • a check of material feasibility of the request for service, on the basis of whose results: 
     1. all requests for services that are not feasible shall be excluded, 
     2. depending on the contents of the request for service, all requests for services whose implementation has been temporarily impeded due to the suspension of the exercise of the right to dispose of all securities of a certain title registered by the SCP upon the issuer’s request, shall be either set aside for later implementation, or excluded ⁴⁷⁾,
     3. appropriate entries shall be made in the register kept by the SCP, or the required information drawn from the said register shall be processed,
   • the required information concerning the result of processing of the request for service shall be prepared for the notice of the result of processing to be forwarded as prescribed by these Operation Rules.

Article 26. Notice of Result of Processing

1. The SCP shall notify the user of the result of processing of a request for service within the time limit stipulated under Article 23 paragraph 1 of these Operation Rules, namely through the person filing the request for service and at the same SCP Office that accepted his request for service. A different manner of forwarding the result of processing may be agreed upon at the filing of the request for service.
2. If a request for service was excluded from processing due to subsequently identified deficiencies or impossibility to be implemented, the SCP shall also inform about the reason of such exclusion.
3. If a request for service was set aside while being processed, the SCP shall determine an adequate additional time limit for the forwarding of the result of its processing, which may be done repeatedly if required.
4. Upon receipt of the result of processing, the person filing the request for service is obliged to check whether the result of processing is in conformity with the request for service filed by him, and lodge any complaint without unnecessary delay. The person filing the request for services shall confirm to the SCP the receipt of the notice of the result of processing by his signature accompanied with the date of notification of the result of processing.  

Article 27. Notification of Account Holder

1. If the processing of a request for service has resulted in a change in the entries made in the register kept by the SCP and concerning a certain owner account, and if the person filing the request for service is not identical with the respective account holder, the SCP shall also inform the account holder about the change made in the SCP register, unless agreed otherwise.
2. The account holder shall be informed in case of:
   
   • the opening of an owner account, including the advice about the registration number of the account if such account is not a special account (Article 40, paragraph 8 of these Operation Rules),
   • a change in the address for service if the service of documents to an address different from the permanent residence or seat address was agreed upon under paragraph 3,
   • crediting or debiting securities to the owner’s account (statement of account change) ⁴⁸⁾.
3. Unless agreed otherwise, the SCP shall send the information to the account holder by registered mail to the address of his permanent residence or seat registered in the SCP. Requests regarding a different manner of delivery of information to the account holder are considered as SCP special services, and the provision thereof is subject to applicable provisions of these Operation Rules.

Article 28. Complaints about SCP Service

Procedures relating to lodging and settling complaints about SCP services, and to any objections and complaints are regulated by the respective decisions of the SCP Managing Director.