The significance of GDPR enforcement and compliance mechanisms

EU legislators have established enforcement mechanisms to ensure data protection and legal compliance.

These enforcement mechanisms include a number of measures and instruments:

• The establishment of national supervisory authorities (and the Lead Supervisory Authority in case of cross-border data transfers) and of the European Data Protection Board (Chapter 6);
• Arrangements to streamline legal compliance, including codes of conduct (Article 40), data protection certifications (Article 42), binding corporate rules (Article 47) and standard (contractual) data protection clauses (Article 46);
• Rights of data subjects, including the right to lodge a complaint and the right to an effective judicial remedy (Chapter VIII);
• A multi-layered mechanism to protect the transfer of personal data of EU citizens outside the EU (Chapter V);
• Liabilities and sanctions for violation of laws (Chapter VIII);
• The role of Member States in compliance and implementation.