European UnionAI Act, Article 56 (codes of practice for general-purpose AI models)
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 56
In force since .
An AI governance rule binding government bodies.
- Private right of action
- No
- Obligation class
- Governance
- Audit expectation
- none
As of .
What it requires
- The AI Office encourages and facilitates the drawing up of codes of practice at Union level in order to contribute to the proper application of the Regulation, taking into account international approaches.
- The AI Office and the Board aim to ensure that the codes of practice cover at least the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55, including the means to ensure that the information referred to in Article 53(1), points (a) and (b), is kept up to date in light of market and technological developments, the adequate level of detail for the summary about the content used for training, the identification of the type and nature of the systemic risks at Union level, and the measures, procedures and modalities for the assessment and management of those risks.
- If you are a provider of a general-purpose AI model, the AI Office may invite you to participate in the drawing-up of codes of practice and to adhere to them. If your model does not present systemic risks, your adherence may be limited to the obligations provided for in Article 53, unless you declare explicitly your interest to join the full code.
- The AI Office aims to ensure that participants in the codes of practice report regularly to the AI Office on the implementation of the commitments and the measures taken and their outcomes, including as measured against key performance indicators as appropriate.
- The Commission and the Board regularly monitor and evaluate the achievement of the objectives of the codes of practice by the participants. The Commission, taking utmost account of the opinion of the Board, assesses whether the codes of practice cover the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55 and publishes its assessment of their adequacy.
- Where a code of practice cannot be finalised by , or the AI Office deems it not adequate following its assessment, the Commission may provide, by means of implementing acts, common rules for the implementation of the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
Who enforces it
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does the Commission retain any power under Article 56 to approve a code of practice by implementing act and give it general validity within the Union, now that paragraph 6 as replaced by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 sets out the monitoring, assessment and publication tasks and does not mention approval?
What it makes you log
Logging duty
Article 56 binds the AI Office, the Board and the Commission, invites providers to take part in and adhere to codes of practice, and names no log, record or retention period. The duties a provider may demonstrate through a code are those of Articles 53 and 55.
- Kind
- None
- As of
What this law does
The AI Office encourages and facilitates the drawing up of codes of practice at Union level in order to contribute to the proper application of the Regulation, taking into account international approaches.
The AI Office and the Board aim to ensure that the codes of practice cover at least the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55, including the means to keep the Article 53(1) information up to date, the adequate level of detail for the summary about the content used for training, the identification of the type and nature of the systemic risks at Union level and the measures, procedures and modalities for assessing and managing them.
The AI Office may invite all providers of general-purpose AI models, as well as relevant national competent authorities, to participate in the drawing-up of codes of practice. The AI Office aims to ensure that participants in the codes of practice report regularly to the AI Office on the implementation of the commitments and the measures taken and their outcomes, including as measured against key performance indicators as appropriate.
As replaced by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, Article 56(6) has the Commission and the Board regularly monitor and evaluate the achievement of the objectives of the codes of practice by the participants and their contribution to the proper application of the Regulation, and has the Commission, taking utmost account of the opinion of the Board, assess whether the codes of practice cover the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55 and publish its assessment of their adequacy.
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 entered into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. The AI Office may invite all providers of general-purpose AI models to adhere to the codes of practice, and for providers of models not presenting systemic risks this adherence may be limited to the obligations provided for in Article 53, unless they declare explicitly their interest to join the full code.
Where a code of practice cannot be finalised by , or the AI Office deems it not adequate following its assessment, the Commission may provide, by means of implementing acts, common rules for the implementation of the obligations provided for in Articles 53 and 55. In fixing the amount of a fine on a provider of a general-purpose AI model, the Commission also takes into account commitments made in relevant codes of practice in accordance with Article 56. Article 113 applies Chapter V, which contains Article 56, from .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app trains models.