1. Each Member State shall provide for one or more independent public authorities to be responsible for monitoring the application of this Regulation, in order to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons in relation to processing and to facilitate the free flow of personal data within the Union (‘supervisory authority’).
Article 51 GDPR - Supervisory authority
2. Each supervisory authority shall contribute to the consistent application of this Regulation throughout the Union. For that purpose, the supervisory authorities shall cooperate with each other and the Commission in accordance with Chapter VII.
3. Where more than one supervisory authority is established in a Member State, that Member State shall designate the supervisory authority which is to represent those authorities in the Board and shall set out the mechanism to ensure compliance by the other authorities with the rules relating to the consistency mechanism referred to in Article 63.
4. Each Member State shall notify to the Commission the provisions of its law which it adopts pursuant to this Chapter, by 25 May 2018 and, without delay, any subsequent amendment affecting them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to common questions about this provision. They are general information and not legal advice.
Each Member State must provide for one or more independent public authorities responsible for monitoring the application of the Regulation. Paragraph 1 assigns this supervision a dual objective, namely protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons in relation to processing and facilitating the free flow of personal data within the Union.
Yes. Paragraph 1 speaks of one or more authorities, and paragraph 3 addresses the consequence by requiring such a Member State to designate the authority that represents the others in the Board and to set out a mechanism ensuring that all its authorities comply with the consistency mechanism of Article 63.
Paragraph 2 obliges each authority to contribute to consistent application throughout the Union and, for that purpose, to cooperate with the other supervisory authorities and with the Commission in accordance with Chapter VII. The detailed instruments of that cooperation, such as mutual assistance under Article 61 and the consistency mechanism under Articles 63 to 66, are found in that Chapter.
No. Paragraph 1 pairs the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms with facilitating the free flow of personal data within the Union, mirroring the twin objectives of the Regulation stated in Article 1. Supervision therefore also serves the internal-market dimension of the Regulation.
Paragraph 4 required each Member State to notify the provisions of its law adopted pursuant to Chapter VI by 25 May 2018 and obliges it to notify, without delay, any subsequent amendment affecting those provisions. The duty covers the national rules establishing and organising the supervisory authority, including those adopted under Articles 53 and 54.