---
title: "Art. 81 GDPR: Suspension of proceedings"
canonical: "https://dposchool.com/gdpr/article/81"
source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679#art_81"
source_note: "Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Official Journal L 119, 4.5.2016, as corrected. Only the text published in the Official Journal is authentic. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu"
text_as_of: "2026-10-28"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-29"
language: "en"
publisher: "DPO School"
---

Art. 81 GDPR · Chapter VIII: Remedies, liability and penalties

# Article 81 GDPR: Suspension of proceedings

Text as of 28 October 2026 · [Reviewed by Sergio Maldonado Elvira on 29 October 2026](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/about#review)

## Official text

### Article 81(1)

**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.

### Article 81(2)

**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.

### Article 81(3)

**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.

## Source

Source: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Official Journal L 119, 4.5.2016, as corrected. Only the text published in the Official Journal is authentic. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu

[Article 81 on EUR-Lex](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32016R0679#art_81)

Text as of 28 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.

## Related recitals

This list is under review.

- [Recital 144](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/recital/144)

## Navigation

[GDPR Navigator](https://dposchool.com/gdpr) / [Chapter VIII](https://dposchool.com/gdpr/chapter/8) / Article 81

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