GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Status

Accepted

Abstract

This article analyzes mixed administration through a detailed case study of the operation of the European Data Protection Directive in Italy. For purposes of this contribution, a mixed procedure is an administrative process, established by Treaty or European legislation, in which national and European administration share responsibility for a single determination of rights and duties under European law. The article proceeds in four parts. First, I analyze the mixed procedure for transfers of personal information to third countries as it appears on the face of the Data Protection Directive. Second, I describe the experience with the procedure in the brief period from implementation of the Data Protection Directive to the present day and conclude that it has not yet come to life. Third, I suggest that the sharing of administrative responsibility creates special problems for democratic accountability and, to a lesser extent, individual rights. Lastly, I turn to the larger puzzle of why member states sometimes decide to retain administrative authority for themselves, i.e. classic indirect administration, and other times decide to share it with the Commission and other member states sitting in comitology committees.

GW Paper Series

GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2013-45; GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2013-45

Download

Included in

Law Commons

Share

COinS