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RGPD

Article 55

Competence

1.   Each supervisory authority shall be competent for the performance of the tasks assigned to and the exercise of the powers conferred on it in accordance with this Regulation on the territory of its own Member State.

2.   Where processing is carried out by public authorities or private bodies acting on the basis of point (c) or (e) of Article 6(1), the supervisory authority of the Member State concerned shall be competent. In such cases Article 56 does not apply.

3.   Supervisory authorities shall not be competent to supervise processing operations of courts acting in their judicial capacity.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Which supervisory authority is competent under Article 55?
Each supervisory authority is competent to perform the tasks assigned to it and to exercise the powers conferred on it in accordance with the Regulation on the territory of its own Member State. Competence is territorial: an authority acts within its own Member State, not beyond it.
What happens when processing is carried out by public authorities or by private bodies acting on the basis of Article 6(1)(c) or (e)?
In that situation the supervisory authority of the Member State concerned is competent. Article 55(2) covers processing by public authorities and by private bodies acting on the basis of point (c) or (e) of Article 6(1). It also states that Article 56 does not apply in such cases, so competence stays with the authority of that Member State.
Can a supervisory authority supervise the courts?
Not when they act in their judicial capacity. Article 55(3) states that supervisory authorities are not competent to supervise processing operations of courts acting in their judicial capacity.