Source: OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, pp. 1–88Consolidated text

Current language: EN

Article 52 Independence

Summary What does Article 52 of the GDPR regulation say?

This article establishes the independence requirements for supervisory authorities under the GDPR.

It works in close conjunction with Article 51, which requires Member States to establish supervisory authorities in the first place, by setting out the conditions under which those authorities must operate.

The article covers both the behavioural obligations of the authority's members and the structural obligations placed on Member States to ensure that independence is not merely nominal but genuinely supported through resources, staffing, and financial arrangements.

Important points:

  • Supervisory authorities and their members must act with complete independence, free from any external influence, and cannot seek or accept instructions from any party.
  • Each Member State is required to provide its supervisory authority with the necessary human, technical, and financial resources to carry out its tasks effectively.
  • Each Member State must ensure supervisory authorities have their own staff and separate, public annual budgets, subject to financial control that does not compromise their independence.

Springlex's summary of the article is a reading aid, not a substitute for the legal text.

    1. Each supervisory authority shall act with complete independence in performing its tasks and exercising its powers in accordance with this Regulation.

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

    1. 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.

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