EU Court of Justice · 9 March 2010
Commission v Germany (independent regulators)
In plain English
Data protection authorities must be completely independent, free from any outside influence including the state's. Germany broke EU law by placing the regional authorities that supervise private companies under state scrutiny.
What the court ruled
the supervisory authorities responsible for supervising the processing of personal data outside the public sector must enjoy an independence allowing them to perform their duties free from external influence.
Related
The official text is quoted word for word from the English version of the source named under it; only the version published in the court’s own records is authoritative. The plain-English line is Fino’s own summary, not legal advice.