| • | | reports furnished on Form6-K that indicate that they are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement. |
Any statement contained in this Registration Statement, in an amendment hereto or in a document incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed amendment to this Registration Statement or in any document that also is incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.
ITEM 4. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.
Not applicable.
ITEM 5. INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.
Not applicable.
ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
Article 137 of Royal Dutch Shell’s Articles of Association (“Articles”) provides that, as far as the legislation allows this, Royal Dutch Shell: (i) can indemnify any director or former director of the company, of any associated company or of any affiliate against any liability; and (ii) can purchase and maintain insurance against any liability for any director or former director of the company, of any associated company or of any affiliate. Pursuant to the Companies Act 2006, we may purchase and maintain for our directors (or directors of an associated company), insurance against any liability attaching to them in connection with any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the relevant company.
Royal Dutch Shell has entered into a deed of indemnity with each of the Royal Dutch Shell directors. The terms of each of these deeds are identical and they reflect the statutory provisions on indemnities contained in the Companies Act 2006. Under the terms of each deed, Royal Dutch Shell undertakes to indemnify the relevant Royal Dutch Shell director, to the widest extent permitted by law, against any and all liability, howsoever caused (including by that director’s own negligence), suffered or incurred by that director in respect of that director’s acts or omissions on or after the date that the deed was entered into in the course of that director acting as a director or employee of Royal Dutch Shell, any member of the Shell Group or certain other entities. In addition, Royal Dutch Shell undertakes to lend such funds to the director as it, in its reasonable discretion, considers appropriate for him/her to meet expenditure incurred or to be incurred by him/her in defending any criminal or civil proceedings or in connection with certain applications under the Companies Act 2006. It will be a term of each indemnity that Royal Dutch Shell and the relevant director agree to be bound by the provisions in Royal Dutch Shell’s Articles relating to arbitration and exclusive jurisdiction.
The relevant provisions of the Companies Act 2006 include sections 232 to 235.
Section 232 states that, any provision to exempt to any extent a director from liability for negligence, default, breach of duty or trust by him/her in relation to the company is void. Any provision by which a company directly or indirectly provides (to any extent) an indemnity for a director of the company or an associated company against any such liability is also void unless it is a qualifying third-party indemnity provision or a qualifying pension scheme indemnity provision. Royal Dutch Shell is still permitted to purchase insurance against any such liability for a director of the company or an associated company.
A qualifying pension scheme indemnity means a provision indemnifying a director of a company that is a trustee of an occupational pension scheme against liability incurred in connection with the company’s activities as trustee of the scheme.