This Regulation lays down procedural rules for the handling of complaints and the conduct of investigations in complaint-based and ex officio cases by supervisory authorities in the enforcement of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 where those cases concern cross-border processing. The handling of complaints and the conduct of investigations in cases concerning cross-border processing includes the determination of whether a case concerns cross-border processing.
For the purposes of this Regulation the definitions in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 apply.
The following definition also applies:
‘party under investigation’ means the controller or processor investigated for an alleged infringement of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 that concerns cross-border processing.
1. Supervisory authorities shall conduct proceedings within the scope of this Regulation in an expedient and efficient manner. They shall cooperate with each other in a sincere and effective manner, including by providing support where necessary and responding to each other’s requests without delay.
2. A supervisory authority may join or separate proceedings in accordance with national procedural law, insofar as joining or separating those proceedings does not undermine the rights of the parties under investigation or those of the complainant.
3. A complainant shall have the possibility to communicate exclusively with the supervisory authority with which the complainant has lodged his or her complaint pursuant to Article 77 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
4. The handling of a complaint shall always lead to a decision that is subject to an effective judicial remedy within the meaning of Article 78 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679.
5. In the interest of efficiency of the proceedings, supervisory authorities may limit the length of the submissions of the party under investigation and of the complainant, taking into account the complexity of the case and the documents that have already been submitted.
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