Article 29 Working Party

The Article 29 Working Party recommendations, consultations and policy documents

Title:	Article 29 Working Party opinions (no specific document)
Source reference:	http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/ (no specific document)
Topic:	Opinions of the Working Party regarding specific aspects of data protection
Direct / indirect relevance	Direct or indirect, depending on the scope and contents of the opinion.
Scope:	The scope is determined by the subject of the opinion, and can vary widely
Legal force:	While not strictly legally binding, non-compliance with an opinion of the Working Party is highly indicative of violation of European data protection regulations. The opinions are authoritative, but not binding.
Affected sectors:	The affected sectors are determined by the subject of the opinion, and can vary widely.
Relevant provision(s):	Relevant provisions depend on the specific opinion.
Relevance to RM/RA:	The Working Group frequently voices its opinion on controversial issues in the field of data protection, such as data retention (Opinion 1/2007), flight passenger data (Opinion 9/2006), and the Safe Harbour arrangements (Opinion 4/2000). While the opinions are principally relevant for regulatory initiatives (as they often evaluate the adequacy of proposed or existing regulation, or of their application in practice), the opinions can also be relevant for the evaluation of RM/RA practices in the field concerned, since issues highlighted by the Working Party may prove to be problematic in practice, even if no further regulatory initiatives have followed the opinion.

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