Art. 51 Supervisory authority | GDPR regulation | GDPR

This foundational article establishes the requirement for supervisory authorities under the GDPR.

It places the obligation on each Member State to set up at least one independent public authority tasked with monitoring the application of the Regulation.

The article also sets the tone for how these authorities must operate beyond their own borders, requiring them to cooperate with one another and with the Commission to ensure the Regulation is applied consistently across the Union.

It connects directly to Chapter VII, which governs the cooperation and consistency mechanisms that underpin this cross-border coordination.

Important points:

Member States are required to establish one or more independent public authorities to act as supervisory authorities for monitoring compliance with the Regulation.
Supervisory authorities are required to cooperate with each other and the Commission to ensure consistent application of the Regulation across the Union.
Where a Member State has more than one supervisory authority, it must designate one to represent them in the Board and establish a mechanism to ensure the others comply with the consistency rules under Article 63.

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’).
1. 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.
1. 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.
1. 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.