On March 09, 2021, the European Data Protection Board (‘EDPB’) adopted Guidelines 09/2020 on relevant and reasoned objection under Regulation 2016/679. It aims at establishing a common understanding of the notion of the terms“relevant and reasoned”, including what should be considered when assessing whether an objection“clearly demonstrates the significance of the risks posed by the draft decision” (Article 4(24) GDPR).
The Guidelines outline the conditions for relevant and reasoned objections in the context of the cooperation mechanism between the lead supervisory authority and the concerned supervisory authorities under the General Data Protection Regulation, as well as the substance of objections.
The EDPB advises Supervisory authorities to raise their objections and exchange information through the information and communication system set up for the exchange of information among Supervisory Authorities. They should be clearly marked as such by using the specific dedicated functions and tools.
The guidelines also note that the objection must be ‘relevant’ and there should be a direct connection between the objection and the substance of the draft decision at issue, as well as ‘reasoned’ where the objection should include clarifications and arguments.