Article 57 GDPR - Tasks

1. Without prejudice to other tasks set out under this Regulation, each supervisory authority shall on its territory:

(a) monitor and enforce the application of this Regulation;

(b) promote public awareness and understanding of the risks, rules, safeguards and rights in relation to processing. Activities addressed specifically to children shall receive specific attention;

(c) advise, in accordance with Member State law, the national parliament, the government, and other institutions and bodies on legislative and administrative measures relating to the protection of natural persons’ rights and freedoms with regard to processing;

(d) promote the awareness of controllers and processors of their obligations under this Regulation;

(e) upon request, provide information to any data subject concerning the exercise of their rights under this Regulation and, if appropriate, cooperate with the supervisory authorities in other Member States to that end;

(f) handle complaints lodged by a data subject, or by a body, organisation or association in accordance with Article 80, and investigate, to the extent appropriate, the subject matter of the complaint and inform the complainant of the progress and the outcome of the investigation within a reasonable period, in particular if further investigation or coordination with another supervisory authority is necessary;

(g) cooperate with, including sharing information and provide mutual assistance to, other supervisory authorities with a view to ensuring the consistency of application and enforcement of this Regulation;

(h) conduct investigations on the application of this Regulation, including on the basis of information received from another supervisory authority or other public authority;

(i) monitor relevant developments, insofar as they have an impact on the protection of personal data, in particular the development of information and communication technologies and commercial practices;

(j) adopt standard contractual clauses referred to in Article 28(8) and in point (d) of Article 46(2);

(k) establish and maintain a list in relation to the requirement for data protection impact assessment pursuant to Article 35(4);

(l) give advice on the processing operations referred to in Article 36(2);

(m) encourage the drawing up of codes of conduct pursuant to Article 40(1) and provide an opinion and approve such codes of conduct which provide sufficient safeguards, pursuant to Article 40(5);

(n) encourage the establishment of data protection certification mechanisms and of data protection seals and marks pursuant to Article 42(1), and approve the criteria of certification pursuant to Article 42(5);

(o) where applicable, carry out a periodic review of certifications issued in accordance with Article 42(7);

(p) draft and publish the requirements for accreditation of a body for monitoring codes of conduct pursuant to Article 41 and of a certification body pursuant to Article 43;

(q) conduct the accreditation of a body for monitoring codes of conduct pursuant to Article 41 and of a certification body pursuant to Article 43;

(r) authorise contractual clauses and provisions referred to in Article 46(3);

(s) approve binding corporate rules pursuant to Article 47;

(t) contribute to the activities of the Board;

(u) keep internal records of infringements of this Regulation and of measures taken in accordance with Article 58(2); and

(v) fulfil any other tasks related to the protection of personal data.

2. Each supervisory authority shall facilitate the submission of complaints referred to in point (f) of paragraph 1 by measures such as a complaint submission form which can also be completed electronically, without excluding other means of communication.

3. The performance of the tasks of each supervisory authority shall be free of charge for the data subject and, where applicable, for the data protection officer.

4. Where requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because of their repetitive character, the supervisory authority may charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs, or refuse to act on the request. The supervisory authority shall bear the burden of demonstrating the manifestly unfounded or excessive character of the request.

Relevant Recitals

Frequently Asked Questions

Short answers to common questions about this provision. They are general information and not legal advice.

Article 57(1) lists twenty-two tasks that each authority must perform on its territory, ranging from monitoring and enforcing the Regulation under point (a) to handling complaints under point (f), conducting investigations under point (h), approving codes of conduct and certification criteria, and contributing to the activities of the Board. Point (v) adds a residual task of fulfilling any other tasks related to the protection of personal data, so the list is not exhaustive.

Point (f) of Article 57(1) obliges the authority to handle complaints lodged by a data subject or by a body under Article 80 and to investigate the subject matter to the extent appropriate. The authority therefore retains a margin in calibrating the depth of the investigation, but it must inform the complainant of the progress and the outcome within a reasonable period, in particular where further investigation or coordination with another authority is necessary.

No, as a rule. Article 57(3) provides that the performance of the authority's tasks shall be free of charge for the data subject and, where applicable, for the data protection officer. Only where requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because of their repetitive character, may the authority under paragraph 4 charge a reasonable fee based on administrative costs or refuse to act, and it bears the burden of demonstrating that character.

Article 57(2) requires each authority to facilitate the submission of complaints by measures such as a complaint submission form which can also be completed electronically. The provision expressly states that such measures may not exclude other means of communication, so a data subject cannot be forced into a single channel.

Yes. Points (b) to (e) of Article 57(1) assign promotional and advisory tasks, including raising public awareness of risks, rules, safeguards and rights, with specific attention to activities addressed to children, advising the national parliament and government on legislative measures, promoting the awareness of controllers and processors of their obligations, and providing information to data subjects on the exercise of their rights. Point (i) further requires the authority to monitor relevant developments, in particular in information and communication technologies and commercial practices.