Who sends the notice of dismissing of the data protection officer in case of liquidation?

Who should notify the President of the Office of the recalling of the data protection officer in the event of liquidation/acquisition of the controller who designated the officer (e.g., in the case of liquidation of a lower secondary school)?

The entity which has designated an officer shall notify the President of the Office about  recalling of the officer. This obligation is based on Article 10(4) of the Act of 10 May 2018 on the Protection of Personal Data (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1781).

On the other hand, in a situation where the controller has not notified the President of the Office of the recalling of the DPO, this can be done by the entity that is its successor in title, and thus has assumed the rights and obligations of the liquidated entity, thus entering into its legal position.

Taking lower secondary schools as an example, it can be pointed out that the obligation to notify the recalling of the DPO should therefore have been carried out by an institution that was liquidated under the so-called education reform carried out on the basis of the provisions of the Education Law and the Act of 14 December 2016 - Regulations introducing the Act - Education Law (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 60, as amended), hereinafter referred to as the Amending Act. Article 117(4) of the Amending Act indicates the adoption of so-called declaratory resolutions, constituting the act of transformation of an educational institution. It should also be taken into account whether a lower secondary school has been transformed into an elementary school or has been incorporated into an elementary school, in accordance with Article 129(1) of the Amending Law.

And, according to Article 89(6) of the Education Law, the records of a liquidated public school shall be handed over to the authority in charge of the school, with the exception of the educational records, which shall be handed over to the authority in charge of pedagogical supervision, within one month from the date of completion of liquidation.

Thus, in the case where a lower secondary school has not notified the DPO’s recalling, it is the responsibility of the entity being the successor of the liquidated lower secondary school to send such notification to the DPO.