Article 81 — Suspension of proceedings

GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679

What does GDPR Article 81 say?

Short answer, straight from the official text

1. Where a competent court of a Member State has information on proceedings, concerning the same subject matter as regards processing by the same controller or processor, that are pending in a court in another Member State, it shall contact that court in the other Member State to confirm the existence of such proceedings. 2.

Source: GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679, read 2026-08-14.

Official text

Read from the EU Publications Office for this CELEX number. The wording stands as published; nothing here is rewritten or summarised.

Jump to a point: Point 1 · Point 2 · Point 3

1. Where a competent court of a Member State has information on proceedings, concerning the same subject matter as regards processing by the same controller or processor, that are pending in a court in another Member State, it shall contact that court in the other Member State to confirm the existence of such proceedings.

2. Where proceedings concerning the same subject matter as regards processing of the same controller or processor are pending in a court in another Member State, any competent court other than the court first seized may suspend its proceedings.

3. Where those proceedings are pending at first instance, any court other than the court first seized may also, on the application of one of the parties, decline jurisdiction if the court first seized has jurisdiction over the actions in question and its law permits the consolidation thereof.

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Other articles in this chapter

• Article 77
• Article 78
• Article 79
• Article 80
• Article 82
• Article 83
• Article 84

Who does this apply to

The register names five roles. Open a role to see the duties this act places on it, each row with its article and its source.

• Cloud service provider

Does this apply to us?

• Do ai governance rules apply to a cloud provider?
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• Do cross-border data rules apply to a cloud provider?
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• Do health data rules apply to a cloud provider?
• Do online platforms rules apply to a cloud provider?

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The text is quoted from the official source and is not legal advice. A national court reads the language version that binds in its jurisdiction.

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