- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation)(Text with EEA relevance)
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Revised version PDFs
- Revised 04/05/20160.59 MB
Legislation originating from the EU
When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.
This item of legislation originated from the EU
Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).
Changes over time for: Article 52
Changes to legislation:
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Article 52 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 26 February 2025. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to Article 52:
- Art. 17(1)(g) inserted by 2024 c. 21 s. 31(2)
- Art. 17(4)(5) inserted by 2024 c. 21 s. 31(3)
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole legislation item and associated provisions
- Art. 17(1)(g) inserted by 2024 c. 21 s. 31(2)
- Art. 17(4)(5) inserted by 2024 c. 21 s. 31(3)
Article 52U.K.Independence
1.[F1The Commissioner] shall act with complete independence in performing F2... tasks and exercising F2... powers in accordance with this Regulation.
2.[F3The Commissioner] shall, in the performance of F4... tasks and exercise of F4... powers in accordance with this Regulation, remain free from external influence, whether direct or indirect, and shall neither seek nor take instructions from anybody.
3.[F5The Commissioner] shall refrain from any action incompatible with [F6the Commissioner's duties] and shall not, [F7while holding office], engage in any incompatible occupation, whether gainful or not.
F84.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F85.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F86.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Textual Amendments
F1Words in Art. 52(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(2)(a) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F2Word in Art. 52(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(2)(b) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F3Words in Art. 52(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(3)(a) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F4Word in Art. 52(2) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(3)(b) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F5Words in Art. 52(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(4)(a) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F6Words in Art. 52(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(4)(b) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F7Words in Art. 52(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(4)(c) (with reg. 5); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
F8Art. 52(4)(5)(6) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/419), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 46(5) (with reg. 5, Sch. 1 para. 80); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Regulation
PrintThe Whole Chapter
PrintThe Whole Section
PrintThis Article only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the EU Official Journal
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as adopted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.