Rules regarding the establishment & powers of supervisory authority

In today’s article we will discuss the rules regarding the establishment of supervisory authority which are mandatory to follow and given under chapter 6 (Article 54) from where the Supervisory authority derives its existence. We will now discuss the provisions related to the establishment of the supervisory authority.

  1. The EU member state must establish a supervisory authority;
  2. The qualifications and eligibility conditions are required to be kept in place;
  3. The rules and procedure for the appointment of each supervisory authority;
  4. The duration and terms of each supervisory authority of no less than 4 years (except the first appointment after 24th May 2016);
  5. Whether the member(s) of each supervisory authority is eligible for reappointment and if yes, for how many terms; 
  6. The conditions governing the obligations of the member or members and staff of each supervisory authority. Term of office and rules governing the cessation of employment.  

Powers of Supervisory Authority:

The regulation assigns certain powers and functions upon the supervisory authority:

  1. Complete Independence: The GDPR mandates that the Supervisory Authority shall perform their task with complete freedom and exercise its power as per the regulations.
  1. Freedom from external influence: The regulations speak of both kinds of influence, direct or indirect influence, and it further mandates that the Supervisory Authority shall not take instructions from anybody while performing their task. 
  1. Refrain from incompatible occupation: Supervisory authorities shall refrain from all actions rendering them incompatible with their duties and during their tenure of office shall also not engage in any incompatible occupation (whether gainful or not).
  1. Equip Supervisory Authority: The regulations mandates that the supervisory authority shall be provided with human, technical, and financial resources, premises and necessary infrastructure so that they can perform their duties and exercise their powers, inclusive of those which are to be carried out in the context of mutual assistance, cooperation and participation in the board.
  1. The staff of choice: It is the responsibility of EU member states to provide the supervisor authorities staff of his/her own choice and that staff shall be subject to the exclusive direction of the supervisory authority concerned.  
  1. Provide Budget: Here the regulation has made sure that the supervisory authorities are financially independent and it has a separate public annual budget. 

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