Cap. 496 Art. 21General functions of the Commissioner. Cap. 586.

(1) In addition to his duties under the Data Protection Act it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to promote the observance by relevant public authorities of -

(a) the requirements of this Act; and

(b) the provisions of the code of practice issued under article 41.

(2) The Commissioner shall arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as he considers appropriate of such information as it may appear to him expedient to give to the public -

(a) about the operation of this Act,

(b) about compliance with the law, and

(3) Without prejudice to articles 22, 24 and 25, the Commissioner may, with the consent or at the request of any public authority, assess whether that authority is following good practice.

(4) The Commissioner may charge such sums as he may, with the consent of the Minister, determine for any of the services provided by the Commissioner under this article.

(5) Within three months following the end of each calendar year the Commissioner shall prepare and submit to the Minister an annual report on the workings of this Act during that year, and the Minister shall at the first available opportunity cause a copy of the report to be laid on the table of the House of Representatives; the report shall state:

(a) how many requests for information under this Act have been made to public authorities;

(b) how many of these requests have been accepted and rejected;

(c) the reasons for rejection;

(d) the average time taken to reply to requests;

(e) how many complaints have been made to the Commissioner, the grounds for such complaints, and the outcome thereof;

(f) the number of appeals lodged with the Tribunal and how they have been determined; and

(g) the number of information, decision and enforcement notices issued by the Commissioner.

(6) Without prejudice to subarticle (4) and to articles 26, 39 and 40, in the exercise of his functions under this Act the Commissioner shall act independently and shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

(7) In this article "good practice", in relation to a public authority, means such practice in the discharge of its functions under this Act as appears to the Commissioner to be desirable, and includes (but is not limited to) compliance with the requirements of this Act and the provisions of the code of practice issued under article 41.