The Essence of the Privacy Test: Experts from the Personal Data Protection Office at the Legislative Workshops
The better the law, the better the state. Clear and fair laws benefit everyone, and a state based on sound laws strengthens citizens’ trust. Lawmaking, legislative technique, and legislative practice—these are the topics at the heart of the Legislative Workshops. Representatives from the Personal Data Protection Office were, of course, in attendance at the 15th edition of this event.
The Legislative Workshops serve as a forum for discussion among lawyers and legislators employed in government and parliamentary legal services. Invited representatives from the legal academia and practitioners of the lawmaking process share their knowledge and invaluable experience in this field with the participants.
Implementation, Protection, and Evaluation
On Thursday, October 1, one of the main items on the agenda was a lecture titled “Assessing the Degree of Implementation of Personal Data Protection Provisions in the Legislative Process—A Review of Practices.” This topic was discussed by Weronika Kowalik, head of the Legislation Division in the Department of Law and New Technologies at the Personal Data Protection Office, and Tomasz Głuszczyk, representing the same department at the Personal Data Protection Office.
In their lecture, they focused on the practical challenges that arise in legislative review, while also highlighting the importance of regulatory impact assessment. They discussed issues such as large-scale data processing in the era of automated processing and the adoption of appropriate technical solutions in an era of rapid technological development, which—though very important—should be implemented without disregarding the legal basis for data processing operations, arising not only from the GDPR but also from the DGA, DSA, the AI Act, and data processing rules, while respecting and ensuring in the regulations that the rights and freedoms of data subjects are protected.
Referring also to the general principles of IT projects and initiatives, they highlighted best practices as well as problematic solutions proposed and adopted by lawmakers regarding the processing of personal data. As noted by experts from the Personal Data Protection Office, the goal is to highlight the role of the supervisory authority, share both positive and negative experiences, promote best practices during the workshop, and explain the essence of the privacy test.
Respect for the law and the legislator
The 15th Legislative Workshop in Jurata began on September 30. Participants were welcomed by:
• Maria Ejchart, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Justice
• Mirosław Wądołowski, Mayor of Hel
• Col. Renata Niziołek, Director General of the Prison Service
• Piotr Zientarski, Ph.D., Professor at the Warsaw School of Economics (WSGE) and Judge of the State Tribunal
The latter also delivered the inaugural lecture titled “On the Constant Need for Respect for the Law and the Legislator.”
Event participants had the opportunity to attend lectures such as “The Deregulation Process from the Perspective of the Sejm” by Dr. Piotr Kędzior; Director of the Legislative Office of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland; and “Managing External Stakeholders in the Government Legislative Process—A Project-Based Approach” by Dr. Daniel Mańkowski, Vice President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and Aneta Mijał, Director of the Legal Department at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
Dr. Marcin Gubała, Director of the Legislative Department at the Ministry of Justice, discussed “Selected Constitutional Aspects of the Publication of Legal Acts.”
The event concluded on Friday, October 2, with a summary and discussion moderated by Michał Zoń, Director of the Legal Office at the Central Administration of the Prison Service.