Article 48*
Article 48 – General conditions for the members of the supervisory authority
Commission Proposal
| 1. Member States shall provide that the members of the supervisory authority must be appointed either by the parliament or the government of the Member State concerned.2. The members shall be chosen from persons whose independence is beyond doubt and whose experience and skills required to perform their duties notably in the area of protection of personal data are demonstrated.
3. The duties of a member shall end in the event of the expiry of the term of office, resignation or compulsory retirement in accordance with paragraph 5. 4. A member may be dismissed or deprived of the right to a pension or other benefits in its stead by the competent national court, if the member no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of the duties or is guilty of serious misconduct. 5. Where the term of office expires or the member resigns, the member shall continue to exercise the duties until a new member is appointed. |
EDRi’s proposed amendment:
| 1. Member States shall provide that the members of the supervisory authority must be appointed 3. The duties of a member shall end in the event of the expiry of the term of office, resignation or compulsory retirement in accordance with paragraph 5. 4. A member may be dismissed or deprived of the right to a pension or other benefits in its stead by the competent national court, if the member no longer fulfils the conditions required for the performance of the duties or is guilty of serious misconduct. 5. Where the term of office expires or the member resigns, the member shall continue to exercise the duties until a new member is appointed. |
Justification
From the perspective of ensuring full political independence of DPAs, it would be advisable to introduce an explicit clause in the Regulation that would forbid the appointment of members of the supervisory authority by the government. National parliaments should be the only political bodies allowed to appoint DPAs due to their representative nature. This can further help to remove DPAs from political pressure.
The launch and upkeep (until December 31, 2013) of this website received financial support from the EU's Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme.