1. Without prejudice to any available administrative or non-judicial remedy, including the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority pursuant to Article 77, each data subject shall have the right to an effective judicial remedy where he or she considers that his or her rights under this Regulation have been infringed as a result of the processing of his or her personal data in non-compliance with this Regulation.
Article 79 GDPR - Right to an effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor
2. Proceedings against a controller or a processor shall be brought before the courts of the Member State where the controller or processor has an establishment. Alternatively, such proceedings may be brought before the courts of the Member State where the data subject has his or her habitual residence, unless the controller or processor is a public authority of a Member State acting in the exercise of its public powers.
Relevant Recitals
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to common questions about this provision. They are general information and not legal advice.
It guarantees each data subject an effective judicial remedy directly against a controller or processor where he or she considers that rights under the Regulation have been infringed as a result of processing carried out in non-compliance with the Regulation. Paragraph 1 makes this remedy available without prejudice to any administrative or non-judicial remedy, including the complaint under Article 77.
Paragraph 2 gives the claimant a choice between the courts of the Member State where the controller or processor has an establishment and the courts of the Member State of the data subject's habitual residence. The second forum is excluded where the defendant is a public authority of a Member State acting in the exercise of its public powers.
No. Paragraph 1 grants the judicial remedy without prejudice to the right to lodge a complaint pursuant to Article 77, which frames the two routes as parallel, and nothing in the text makes the court action conditional on a prior complaint or its outcome.
Yes. Paragraphs 1 and 2 name both as possible defendants. For compensation claims, Article 82(2) then confines the processor's liability to damage caused where it has not complied with obligations specifically directed to processors or has acted outside or contrary to the controller's lawful instructions.
Article 79 secures access to a court but does not define the remedy the court may grant. Compensation for material or non-material damage is governed by Article 82, and under Article 82(6) such claims are brought before the courts competent under the law of the Member State referred to in Article 79(2).