What is a request for concurrence?

What is a request for concurrence?

Pursuant to Section 100 of Act No. 18/2018 Coll. on the protection of personal data and on amendments to certain laws (hereinafter referred to as the "Personal Data Protection Act"), proceedings on the protection of personal data in the conditions of the Slovak Republic can be initiated in two ways - on the proposal of the data subject or without the request. Such a, so to say, "initiative" may also be filed by a person who claims to be directly concerned by their rights established by this Act.

The Personal Data Protection Act defines what must be included in the request to initiate the procedure. In addition to general provisions such as the applicant's first name, surname, correspondence address and signature of the claimer, an indication of the person against whom the application is addressed with the name, surname, residence or name, registered office and identification number, if assigned, must be provided. Likewise, the subject-matter of the application must be indicated, indicating the rights which should have been infringed in the processing of personal data, as well as evidence in support of the claims made in the application.

In practice, a situation may arise where the data subject does not provide evidence in its proposal to substantiate its claims, or fails to define sufficiently clearly and comprehensibly the infringement it claims. In such cases, the Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic, before requesting administrative proceedings in the case itself, usually requests additional information from the controller by requesting assistance.

As a rule, the request for assistance itself contains questions relating to the application in the main proceedings. It may be the provision of information on which legal basis the person against whom the application is directed processes the applicant's personal data. Furthermore, it may be a check whether the applicant's obligation to provide information pursuant to Art. 13 or 14 of the General Data Protection Regulation and the like. The application usually also includes a requirement that the subject against which the proposal is addressed should comment on the proposal itself and also supplement any other information that may be relevant to the matter.

Until when is the subject against which the proposal is directed to provide the required cooperation? The Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic usually sets a 10 to 15-day period. Note that this period does apply only for working days, so the weekend and holiday are included in the deadline too.

It should be borne in mind that the subject-matter of the petition is obliged to provide the Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic with its cooperation pursuant to Section 104 of the Personal Data Protection Act. Otherwise, the Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic is entitled to impose a fine of up to EUR 10 000 000 or, if the entity in question is an undertaking, up to 2% of the total world annual turnover for the preceding financial year, whichever is the greater.