Bodobalazs: 1 revision imported: GDPRHUB import 2023 04 18

2023-04-18T15:01:38Z

1 revision imported: GDPRHUB import 2023 04 18

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![[Article 51 GDPR|←]] Article 52 - Independence [[Article 53 GDPR|→]]
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 1: General provisions</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 1 GDPR|Article 1: Subject-matter and objectives]]<br />
[[Article 2 GDPR|Article 2: Material scope]]<br />
[[Article 3 GDPR|Article 3: Territorial scope]]<br />
[[Article 4 GDPR|Article 4: Definitions]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 2: Principles</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 5 GDPR|Article 5: Principles relating to processing of personal data]]<br />
[[Article 6 GDPR|Article 6: Lawfulness of processing]]<br />
[[Article 7 GDPR|Article 7: Conditions for consent]]<br />
[[Article 8 GDPR|Article 8: Conditions applicable to child’s consent in relation to information society services]]<br />
[[Article 9 GDPR|Article 9: Processing of special categories of personal data]]<br />
[[Article 10 GDPR|Article 10: Processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences]]<br />
[[Article 11 GDPR|Article 11: Processing which does not require identification]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 3: Rights of the data subject</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 12 GDPR|Article 12: Transparent information, communication and modalities for the exercise of the rights of the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 13 GDPR|Article 13: Information to be provided where personal data are collected from the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 14 GDPR|Article 14: Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 15 GDPR|Article 15: Right of access by the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 16 GDPR|Article 16: Right to rectification]]<br />
[[Article 17 GDPR|Article 17: Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)]]<br />
[[Article 18 GDPR|Article 18: Right to restriction of processing]]<br />
[[Article 19 GDPR|Article 19: Notification obligation regarding rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing]]<br />
[[Article 20 GDPR|Article 20: Right to data portability]]<br />
[[Article 21 GDPR|Article 21: Right to object]]<br />
[[Article 22 GDPR|Article 22: Automated individual decision-making, including profiling]]<br />
[[Article 23 GDPR|Article 23: Restrictions]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 4: Controller and processor</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 24 GDPR|Article 24: Responsibility of the controller]]<br />
[[Article 25 GDPR|Article 25: Data protection by design and by default]]<br />
[[Article 26 GDPR|Article 26: Joint controllers]]<br />
[[Article 27 GDPR|Article 27: Representatives of controllers or processors not established in the Union]]<br />
[[Article 28 GDPR|Article 28: Processor]]<br />
[[Article 29 GDPR|Article 29: Processing under the authority of the controller or processor]]<br />
[[Article 30 GDPR|Article 30: Records of processing activities]]<br />
[[Article 31 GDPR|Article 31: Cooperation with the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 32 GDPR|Article 32: Security of processing]]<br />
[[Article 33 GDPR|Article 33: Notification of a personal data breach to the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 34 GDPR|Article 34: Communication of a personal data breach to the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 35 GDPR|Article 35: Data protection impact assessment]]<br />
[[Article 36 GDPR|Article 36: Prior consultation]]<br />
[[Article 37 GDPR|Article 37: Designation of the data protection officer]]<br />
[[Article 38 GDPR|Article 38: Position of the data protection officer]]<br />
[[Article 39 GDPR|Article 39: Tasks of the data protection officer]]<br />
[[Article 40 GDPR|Article 40: Codes of conduct]]<br />
[[Article 41 GDPR|Article 41: Monitoring of approved codes of conduct]]<br />
[[Article 42 GDPR|Article 42: Certification]]<br />
[[Article 43 GDPR|Article 43: Certification bodies]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 5: Transfers of personal data</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 44 GDPR|Article 44: General principle for transfers]]<br />
[[Article 45 GDPR|Article 45: Transfers on the basis of an adequacy decision]]<br />
[[Article 46 GDPR|Article 46: Transfers subject to appropriate safeguards]]<br />
[[Article 47 GDPR|Article 47: Binding corporate rules]]<br />
[[Article 48 GDPR|Article 48: Transfers or disclosures not authorised by Union law]]<br />
[[Article 49 GDPR|Article 49: Derogations for specific situations]]<br />
[[Article 50 GDPR|Article 50: International cooperation for the protection of personal data]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 6: Supervisory authorities</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 51 GDPR|Article 51: Supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 52 GDPR|Article 52: Independence]]<br />
[[Article 53 GDPR|Article 53: General conditions for the members of the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 54 GDPR|Article 54: Rules on the establishment of the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 55 GDPR|Article 55: Competence]]<br />
[[Article 56 GDPR|Article 56: Competence of the lead supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 57 GDPR|Article 57: Tasks]]<br />
[[Article 58 GDPR|Article 58: Powers]]<br />
[[Article 59 GDPR|Article 59: Activity reports]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 7: Cooperation and consistency</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 60 GDPR|Article 60: Cooperation between the lead supervisory authority and the other supervisory authorities concerned]]<br />
[[Article 61 GDPR|Article 61: Mutual assistance]]<br />
[[Article 62 GDPR|Article 62: Joint operations of supervisory authorities]]<br />
[[Article 63 GDPR|Article 63: Consistency mechanism]]<br />
[[Article 64 GDPR|Article 64: Opinion of the Board]]<br />
[[Article 65 GDPR|Article 65: Dispute resolution by the Board]]<br />
[[Article 66 GDPR|Article 66: Urgency procedure]]<br />
[[Article 67 GDPR|Article 67: Exchange of information]]<br />
[[Article 68 GDPR|Article 68: European Data Protection Board]]<br />
[[Article 69 GDPR|Article 69: Independence]]<br />
[[Article 70 GDPR|Article 70: Tasks of the Board]]<br />
[[Article 71 GDPR|Article 71: Reports]]<br />
[[Article 72 GDPR|Article 72: Procedure]]<br />
[[Article 73 GDPR|Article 73: Chair]]<br />
[[Article 74 GDPR|Article 74: Tasks of the Chair]]<br />
[[Article 75 GDPR|Article 75: Secretariat]]<br />
[[Article 76 GDPR|Article 76: Confidentiality]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 8: Remedies, liability and penalties</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 77 GDPR|Article 77: Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 78 GDPR|Article 78: Right to an effective judicial remedy against a supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 79 GDPR|Article 79: Right to an effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor]]<br />
[[Article 80 GDPR|Article 80: Representation of data subjects]]<br />
[[Article 81 GDPR|Article 81: Suspension of proceedings]]<br />
[[Article 82 GDPR|Article 82: Right to compensation and liability]]<br />
[[Article 83 GDPR|Article 83: General conditions for imposing administrative fines]]<br />
[[Article 84 GDPR|Article 84: Penalties]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 9: Specific processing situations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 85 GDPR|Article 85: Processing and freedom of expression and information]]<br />
[[Article 86 GDPR|Article 86: Processing and public access to official documents]]<br />
[[Article 87 GDPR|Article 87: Processing of the national identification number]]<br />
[[Article 88 GDPR|Article 88: Processing in the context of employment]]<br />
[[Article 89 GDPR|Article 89: Safeguards and derogations relating to processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes]]<br />
[[Article 90 GDPR|Article 90: Obligations of secrecy]]<br />
[[Article 91 GDPR|Article 91: Existing data protection rules of churches and religious associations]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 10: Delegated and implementing acts</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 92 GDPR|Article 92: Exercise of the delegation]]<br />
[[Article 93 GDPR|Article 93: Committee procedure]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 11: Final provisions</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 94 GDPR|Article 94: Repeal of Directive 95: /46: /EC]]<br />
[[Article 95 GDPR|Article 95: Relationship with Directive 20: 02: /58: /EC]]<br />
[[Article 96 GDPR|Article 96: Relationship with previously concluded Agreements]]<br />
[[Article 97 GDPR|Article 97: Commission reports]]<br />
[[Article 98 GDPR|Article 98: Review of other Union legal acts on data protection]]<br />
[[Article 99 GDPR|Article 99: Entry into force and application]]<br />
</small>
</div>
</div>
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== Legal Text ==
<br /><center>'''Article 52 - Independence'''</center>

<span id="1">1. Each supervisory authority shall act with complete independence in performing its tasks and exercising its powers in accordance with this Regulation.</span>

<span id="2">2. The member or members of each supervisory authority shall, in the performance of their tasks and exercise of their powers in accordance with this Regulation, remain free from external influence, whether direct or indirect, and shall neither seek nor take instructions from anybody.</span>

<span id="3">3. Member or members of each supervisory authority shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties and shall not, during their term of office, engage in any incompatible occupation, whether gainful or not.</span>

<span id="4">4. Each Member State shall ensure that each supervisory authority is provided with the human, technical and financial resources, premises and infrastructure necessary for the effective performance of its tasks and exercise of its powers, including those to be carried out in the context of mutual assistance, cooperation and participation in the Board.</span>

<span id="5">5. Each Member State shall ensure that each supervisory authority chooses and has its own staff which shall be subject to the exclusive direction of the member or members of the supervisory authority concerned.</span>

<span id="6">6. Each Member State shall ensure that each supervisory authority is subject to financial control which does not affect its independence and that it has separate, public annual budgets, which may be part of the overall state or national budget.</span>

==Relevant Recitals==
{{Recital/117 GDPR}}
{{Recital/118 GDPR}}
{{Recital/119 GDPR}}

== Commentary ==
Article 8(3) CFR as well as Article 16(2) TFEU and Article 39 TEU require independent authorities to monitor and enforce the application of data protection law.<ref>Only convention 108 of the Council of Europe did not require that Supervisory Authorities (“SA”) are established by the contracting countries. However, the modernised Convention 108 (Article 15) now refers to the requirement of an independent authority.</ref> Article 52 GDPR specifies the elements of such independence, making it clear that the authority and its members must exercise their functions without any external influence and without any conflict of interest. In order to make these principles operational, the provision requires Member States to provide the SA with adequate financial and organisational means for this purpose.

=== (1) Complete Independence ===
Under Article 52(1) GDPR, each supervisory authority shall act with complete independence in performing its tasks and exercising its powers. In order to be “complete”, independence must be achieved in several ways. Evidently, the SA must be independent with respect to the entities, controllers or processors, over which it is required to exercise control. However, independence also applies to any other entity that may exercise any kind of direct or indirect control over the decision-making capacity of the SA, including the Commission.<ref>In Schrems I, the Court made it clear that the DPA must carry out a check on the transfer of data even where there is an adequacy decision. CJEU, Schrems I, §57</ref> To give an example, while Member States are free (within the parameters of the GDPR) to adopt or amend the institutional model that they consider to be the most appropriate for their supervisory authorities, ''“in order to comply with the requirement of ‘complete independence’, the supervisory authority must be placed outside the classic hierarchical administration''”.<ref>''Zerdick'', in Kuner et al., The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Article 52 GDPR, p. 879 (Oxford University Press 2020).</ref> Nevertheless, even complete independence has limits. For example, it does not exclude that the appointment of SA members is made by political bodies such as the parliament or the government (Article 53(1) GDPR) or that their actions (including their inactivity) may be subject to judicial review (Article 78 GDPR).

=== (2) Freedom from External Influence ===
Article 52(2) GDPR addresses the members of the SA during the performance of their duties. On the one hand, it requires them to remain free from external influences, whether direct or indirect, and on the other hand, it prohibits them from seeking or taking instructions from anyone.

The provision should be read in the light of the case law of the CJEU. In particular, in [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62007CJ0518 Commission vs. Germany], the Court decided that Germany did not correctly respect such standard ([https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:31995L0046 Article 28(1) of Directive 95/46]) considering that the SAs competent for the private sector were subject to governmental supervision, and state scrutiny. That allowed the government to influence, directly or indirectly, the decisions of the SAs, and even to cancel or replace these decisions. The Court specified that the notion of “''complete independence''” in Article 28 DPD must be given a broad and autonomous interpretation, and aligned on the Article 44 of Regulation 45/2001. Likewise, in [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62010CJ0614 Commission vs. Austria], the Court held that Austria failed to comply with Article 28 DPD by allowing an influence of the government on the SA for the following reasons. The managing member of the SA was an officer working for the Federal Chancellor office and under direct supervision of the Chancellor, the office of the SA was integrated within the department of the Federal Chancellery, and the Chancellor had the right to be informed on all aspects of the work of the SA. Finally, in 2014, in [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A62012CJ0288 Commission vs. Hungary], the Court found that the complete independence of the SA was not guaranteed due to the possibility of prematurely terminating the mandate of the Commissioner.

In conclusion, the SAs must be able to act objectively and impartially and free from any influence that might influence their decision-making process, tasks and powers. Direct influence refers to instructions given to a SA, on whatever aspect of its work. The mere possibility to exercise a political influence over their decisions is enough to conclude to the absence of independence of the SA. Indirect influence, on the other hand, occurs whenever the SA’s actions may be affected by external factors, such as when the mandate of the members may be terminated at any time. In the Court’s view, this generates a form of ‘prior compliance’ which is incompatible with the free and independent exercise of its functions.

Given these conditions, the question arises as to what is, or rather what should be, the scale of national legislative intervention to ensure effective independence during the term of office. The problem is particularly pressing where certain professional categories are concerned, such as legal advisers in the private sector. In this case, too, a form of prior compliance can be envisaged, not so much with respect to political or governmental bodies, but rather with respect to positions taken previously, or to the risk that certain ‘unpopular’ decisions may reduce the number of job opportunities after the end of the mandate. In this sense, one possible solution might be to provide the SA’s appointed members with a medium to long-term financial emolument that would allow them to free themselves from reductive calculations on their professional future.
=== (3) Prohibition Against Incompatible Actions ===
Under Article 52(3) GDPR, members of each SA shall refrain from any action incompatible with their duties and shall not, during their term of office, engage in any incompatible occupation, whether gainful or not. The provision lists neither the actions nor the occupations that are supposed to be incompatible with a function within the SA. However, Article 54(1)(f) GDPR requires the Member States to regulate the matter in their national legislation.

==== Incompatible Action ====
Given that, as mentioned above, the matter of which action or activity is incompatible must be defined by the individual Member States, it is possible to outline some examples of actions which can be said to be certainly incompatible with the function of an SA member. The receipt of gifts, whether tangible or intangible, promises or any other form of benefit is certainly incompatible. At the same time, and to the extent possible, SA members should avoid frequent private contact with potential counterparties or representatives of controllers or processors, at least those against whom investigations are being conducted.

==== Incompatible Activity ====
In the case of activities, the wording of Article 52(3) GDPR makes no difference whether these are professional, part-time, or voluntary. The decisive factor is whether the respective activity is “incompatible” with the office. This is meant to avoid the evil appearance of reduced independence and neutrality, comparable to the rules on bias. This is to be judged according to a prognostic scale. Therefore, there will be an incompatibility if the activity may lead to conflicts of interest with the independent exercise of office and influence on the office, whether in an economic, political or other way. Typically, incompatible conduct is, for example, accepting a position within a company that can be scrutinised by the DPA. Same goes for paid or unpaid legal advice unless the client is located outside the SA’s own jurisdiction. However, even in these cases, it must be examined whether there can be a connection to one’s own official business. The latter may be the case, for example, if it is the establishment or processor of a body to be controlled in its own jurisdiction. When carrying out activities as a tax consultant or lawyer, it must be analyzed, especially regarding the mandate and the task to be assigned, whether collisions with supervisory tasks can occur. However, at least in principle, such freelance activities are not incompatible with the office.<ref>''Polenz'', in Simitis, Hornung, Spiecker, Datenschutzrecht, Article 53 GDPR, margin numbers 12-14 (NOMOS 2019).</ref>

=== (4) Sufficient Resources ===
To be efficient, and carry out their tasks, the SAs should receive the financial, organisational, technical and human resources necessary to deal with their multiple tasks, and use their powers. These tasks include the participation in the cooperation and consistency mechanisms. That involves staff attending the EDPB meetings, cooperation with the other SAs under the consistency mechanism (one-stop shop) but also technical and financial resources to cooperate with the other authorities.

Thus, in accordance with Article 52(4) GPDR, Member States shall ensure that each SA is provided with the human, technical and financial resources, premises and infrastructure necessary for the effective performance of its tasks.

Human resources relate, on the one hand, to the necessary level of staff and, on the other hand, to the presence of qualified personnel to carry out the tasks and exercise of powers. This requires above all employees with a training background in the fields of law and computer science. Within the framework of the applicable salary structures, it must be ensured that the remuneration is designed in such a way that high-quality employees can be recruited in competition with the private sector.<ref>''Polenz'', in Simitis, Hornung, Spiecker, Datenschutzrecht, Article 53 GDPR, margin numbers 17 (NOMOS 2019).</ref>

Technical resources are aimed at an appropriate equipment with hardware and software in order to be able to carry out the transferred official business. The supervisory authorities must be at the cutting edge of information and communication technology in order to be able to carry out their monitoring tasks.<ref>''Polenz'', in Simitis, Hornung, Spiecker, Datenschutzrecht, Article 53 GDPR, margin numbers 17 (NOMOS 2019).</ref>

Financial resources consist of the budget needed for the stable functioning of the SA as well as resources for unforeseen tasks. This includes, for example, funds for travel expenses, also for participation in further education and training, for the implementation of conferences and workshops, for obtaining external expertise in difficult legal issues or in legal representation or for the short-term reinforcement of staff coverage in the event of special workload.<ref>''Polenz'', in Simitis, Hornung, Spiecker, Datenschutzrecht, Article 53 GDPR, margin numbers 19 (NOMOS 2019).</ref>

Other essential elements for the proper functioning of the SA are the premises and the infrastructure. The SA should be equipped with premises with adequate space to ensure the permanence of its members and the confidentiality of meetings. Communication and security infrastructures commensurate with the sensitivity of the task are obviously needed.

Finally, all the above elements should consider the activities carried out “in the context of mutual assistance, cooperation and participation in the Board”. The SA should therefore have at its disposal, for example, linguistic interpreters when the collegial work requires the translation of documents or the interaction with colleagues of a different language, encrypted communication systems to maintain the secrecy of the investigations and, more generally, adequate financial cover for travel and joint investigations.

=== (5) Recruitment and Staff Supervision ===
Article 52(5) GDPR specifies that each SA must be able to choose and employ its own staff, who then must be subject to the exclusive direction of the member or members of the sSA. By way of example, “''this excludes making available staff to the supervisory authority whilst that staff remains linked in an organisational way to or remains subject to any form of supervision by the body which made the staff available''”.<ref>''Zerdick'', in Kuner et al., The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Article 52 GDPR, p. 882 (Oxford University Press 2020).</ref>

=== (6) Financial Control ===
Naturally, the independence of the SAs does not mean that they cannot receive a budget which is subject to the monitoring and control mechanisms regarding their financial expenditure. Article 52(6) GDPR now requires that each SA has a separate annual budget.

== Decisions ==
→ You can find all related decisions in [[:Category:Article 52 GDPR]]

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:GDPR Articles]]

Article 52 GDPR - Revision history

Bodobalazs: 1 revision imported: GDPRHUB import 2023 04 18