GDPR·Article Article 65·low·Component: Chapter VII: Cooperation and Consistency

What this control requires

Implement a process for the Board to adopt binding decisions in disputes, such as objections to a lead supervisory authority's draft decision (Article 60(4)), conflicts over competency, or non-compliance with Board opinions (Article 64). Decisions are made within 1-2 months by a two-thirds majority, binding all supervisory authorities, and published post-notification. This control addresses Cooperation and Consistency.
— GDPR, Article Article 65

In plain English

Implement a process for the Board to adopt binding decisions in disputes, such as objections to a lead supervisory authority's draft decision (Article 60(4)), conflicts over competency, or non-compliance with Board opinions (Article 64). In practice, this means you can prove you process supervisory authority-level controls on a defined cadence.

Why it matters

GDPR administrative fines reach the greater of €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) coordinates supervisory-authority enforcement across the EU/EEA, and DPAs publish enforcement decisions citing specific Articles.

What an auditor looks for

A DPA or privacy auditor expects: a Records of Processing Activities (RoPA) entry, a documented lawful basis, evidence the Article's data-subject right is operationalised end-to-end, a named DPO contact (where required), and Article 30 records that match what the front-end actually does.

Within Chapter VII: Cooperation and Consistency, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Article Article 65) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

How to implement

Policy Management

Docs. Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA.

Operational checklist

  • Process. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
  • Notification. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
  • Cooperation. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
  • Supervisory. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
  • Consistency. Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
  • Scope: supervisory authority, notification, lead supervisory authority, board, article, conflicts over competency.

Evidence to collect

  • Policy Document. A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Dispute resolution by the Board.

Common pitfalls

  • Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.

Related controls in GDPR

References

Topics: governance riskpolicy management