(6)
The Home Rule Act of the Faeroe Islands divides all policy areas into two main groups, whereby Special Faeroese Affairs are the responsibility of the Faeroese Government’s administration and legislation and Joint Concerns are the responsibility of the Kingdom of Denmark. This Decision only covers transfer of personal data from the Community to recipients in the Faeroe Islands who are subject to the Act on Processing of Personal Data (3) (‘the Faeroese Act’). The Faeroese Act does not apply to the processing of personal data in the course of an activity carried out by authorities of the Kingdom of Denmark, namely, the High Commissioner of the Faeroe Islands (Rigsombudsmanden), the Court of the Faeroe Islands (Sorenskriveren), the Commissioner of the Faeroe Islands (Politimesteren på Færøerne), the Prison and Probation Service of the Faeroe Islands (Kriminalforsorgens afdeling), the Island Command Faeroes (Færøernes Kommando) and the Chief Medical Officer of the Faeroe Islands (Landslægen).
(8)
In the interest of transparency and in order to safeguard the ability of the competent authorities in the Member States to ensure the protection of individuals as regards the processing of their personal data, it is necessary to specify the exceptional circumstances in which the suspension of specific data flows may be justified, notwithstanding the finding of adequate protection.
1. Without prejudice to their powers to take action to ensure compliance with national provisions adopted pursuant to provisions other than Article 25 of Directive 95/46/EC, the competent authorities in Member States may exercise their existing powers to suspend data flows to a recipient in the Faeroe Islands whose activities fall within the scope of the Faeroese Act in order to protect individuals with regard to the processing of their personal data in the following cases:
(b)
where there is a substantial likelihood that the standards of protection are being infringed, there are reasonable grounds for believing that the competent Faeroese authority is not taking or will not take adequate and timely steps to settle the case at issue, the continuing transfer would create an imminent risk of grave harm to data subjects and the competent authorities in the Member State have made reasonable efforts in the circumstances to provide the party responsible for processing established in the Faeroe Islands with notice and an opportunity to respond.
