The High Court set aside part of a Data Protection Commission inquiry notice concerning a complaint identified in its order as the Czech complaint, and awarded Google Ireland Limited 70% of its costs.
In a ruling on the final order and costs dated 5 November 2024, Mr Justice Anthony Barr refused Google’s request for additional declarations about the criteria the Commission must meet before starting an inquiry and the evidence it should provide to a data controller or processor. He said the earlier judgment had already determined the issues raised and that broader declarations were unnecessary and inappropriate given the wide range of complaints handled by the Commission.
The ruling followed a substantive judgment delivered on 11 October 2024. The judge said Google succeeded in its core argument that the Commission should have established the admissibility criteria for complaints before deciding to begin a formal inquiry. The inquiry was commenced by a notice dated 23 October 2023.
The judge said information and documents obtained by the Commission after issuing the notice established that all but one of the complaints were admissible. The full position emerged through affidavits filed between March and July 2024, including information received after the proceedings began. The final order set aside the notice only insofar as it related to the Czech complaint and refused Google’s other requested relief.
On costs, the judge considered the parties’ conduct before and during the case. Google had proposed a standstill in December 2023 so the Commission could gather information about six complaints then extant, and renewed the proposal in January 2024. The Commission did not agree to pause the investigation or undertake not to raise a time-limit objection if Google brought judicial review proceedings. The judge said Google was left with no option but to start proceedings to preserve its ability to challenge the October notice.
However, the judge concluded that after the Commission’s later information emerged and before the July hearing, Google should have offered to withdraw the case. As it did not, the judge reduced its costs recovery to 70%. The costs, including reserved and discovery costs, are to be assessed by the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator if the parties do not agree.
The order provides for a 28-day stay of the judgment and costs order. If either party lodges an appeal within that period, the stay continues until the Court of Appeal determines the matter. If an appeal is lodged, the agreed suspension of the inquiry’s conduct is to continue pending that determination.