Procedural rights –  ‘letter’ instead of a decision

Article(s) involved (national, EU, or other):

Problem

Some SAs issue advices or informative  letters on the outcome of a complaint instead of a decision. The status of such letters is unclear.

Ideal Solution

The  procedural regulation should include formal requirement relating to the outcome of a complaint: they should always be decisions (e.g. the decision should be rendered in writing and be dated + the decision should include a statement according to which the complainant has the right to challenge that decision pursuant to Article 78(1) GDPR within the applicable deadline).

Proposed Solution

Concept 11 should ensure that there is minimal requirements for “decisions”.

Reference to specific noyb cases:

For example, a member reported a case where the Irish SA provided an “advice” to the complainant under Section 109(4) of the Irish Data Protection Act, instead of issuing a formal (and thus legally attackable) decision.

Reference to EDPB documents/table:

internal document 02/2021 , see para. 61 and further.