1. The services in the Member States responsible for issuing registration certificates for firearms shall have access to data on persons entered into SIS in accordance with Articles 26 and 36 and to data on firearms entered into SIS in accordance with Article 38(2). The access shall be exercised for the purpose of checking whether the person requesting registration is wanted for arrest for surrender or extradition purposes or for the purposes of discreet, inquiry or specific checks or whether firearms presented for registration are sought for seizure or for use as evidence in criminal proceedings.
2. Access to the data by the services referred to in paragraph 1 shall be governed by the national law and shall be limited to the specific competence of the services concerned.
3. Services referred to in paragraph 1 that are government services shall have the right to access the data in SIS directly.
4. Services referred to in paragraph 1 that are non-government services shall only have access to data in SIS through the intermediary of an authority referred to in Article 44. That authority shall have the right to access the data directly and shall inform the service concerned if the firearm can be registered. The Member State concerned shall ensure that the service in question and its employees are required to respect any limitations to the permissible use of data conveyed to them by the intermediating authority.
5. Article 39 shall not apply to access to SIS gained in accordance with this Article. The communication to the police or the judicial authorities by services referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article of any information obtained through access to SIS shall be governed by national law.