Article 79 Right to an effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor

This article guarantees data subjects the right to seek an effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor when they believe their rights under the GDPR have been infringed.

It sits alongside, rather than replacing, other remedies available to data subjects — most notably the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority under Article 77.

The article also establishes where such legal proceedings can be brought, giving data subjects a degree of flexibility in choosing their jurisdiction.

Important points:

• Data subjects have the right to bring court proceedings against a controller or processor for non-compliance with the regulation, regardless of any other remedies available to them.
• Proceedings can be brought either in the Member State where the controller or processor is established, or where the data subject habitually resides.
• The option to litigate in the data subject's country of habitual residence does not apply where the controller or processor is a public authority acting in the exercise of its public powers.