Litigation Against Board Decisions
Administrative fines and instructions issued by the Personal Data Protection Board can have serious financial and reputational consequences for companies. We bring annulment actions against Board decisions before the administrative courts, and represent your company at the appeal stages before the Regional Administrative Court and the Council of State.
How is an action brought against a Board decision?
Board decisions are administrative acts, and annulment actions against them are brought before the administrative courts. Under an amendment that entered into force on 1 June 2024, administrative fines imposed by the Board are also challenged before the administrative court rather than the criminal judgeship of peace.
Under the Administrative Procedure Law, the time limit for bringing an action is sixty days from notification of the decision. The action should be prepared to show that the decision is unlawful on both procedural and substantive grounds, and it must be consistent with the submissions and documents filed during the Board’s investigation.
Scope
- Bringing annulment actions against Board decisions before the first-instance courts
- Representing companies before the Regional Administrative Court and the Council of State
- Preparing requests for a stay of execution
- Legal assessment of the decision and the investigation file before litigation
How We Work
- Reviewing the decision, its reasoning and the investigation file; assessing whether litigation is worthwhile
- Setting the litigation strategy and the timetable
- Drafting the statement of claim and, where necessary, the request for a stay of execution
- Conducting the first-instance proceedings and filing replies to the Authority’s submissions
- Conducting the appeal stages against the judgment
Team
Frequently Asked Questions
Within what period must we bring an action against a Board decision?
Within sixty days of notification of the decision. This is a strict time limit; if it is missed, the decision becomes final. An objection or correspondence addressed to the Authority does not stop the clock unless it has been specifically assessed from a legal perspective.
Do we lose the right to sue if we pay the administrative fine?
No. Under the Law on Misdemeanours, if an administrative fine is paid within one month of notification, a one-quarter discount applies, and the payment does not affect the right to seek legal remedies. In most cases it is financially more advantageous to pay the fine at the discounted rate and continue the action.
Does bringing an action suspend enforcement of the decision?
Not automatically. For the decision not to be enforced while the case is pending, a stay of execution must be requested from the court. This requires both that the decision is manifestly unlawful and that its enforcement would cause damage that is difficult or impossible to remedy.
What is the route for fines imposed before 1 June 2024?
For administrative fines imposed before the amendment, the judicial route may vary depending on the date of the decision and the stage the objection process has reached. Such decisions need to be assessed on the specific file.
Would you like to discuss this service? Schedule a meeting with us — the first meeting is free of charge.
Schedule a meetingPublications in this area
- Rights Over a Person’s Image and Photograph 15.10.2024
- Can the Corporate E-mail Histories of Employees Who Leave Their Jobs Be Made Available to Another Employee? – An Evaluation in the Context of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data 06.05.2024
- Deepfake Technology – Legal Challenges and Key Questions 17.11.2023
- Push Notifications in Turkish Law: Legal Obligations and User Rights 25.10.2023