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Hafan

Legal Service

Under the direction of the General Counsel, the Legal Service provides timely, effective and proportionate legal advice in line with the ICO’s agreed risk appetite. We support the organisation to deliver its strategic objectives, particularly where this shapes interpretation of the laws we oversee. 

The Legal Service has five directorate areas: 

Data privacy advice, contracts and compliance 

Our Advisory Team provides legal advice on information law and public law issues. This includes supporting strategic projects, advising on policy lines and guidance, and ensuring public law compliance. 

Our Contracts and Compliance Team advises on internal legal risk, including contract and procurement law, leases and property matters, Memorandums of Understanding and data sharing, and internal ICO legal compliance. 

Data privacy advice  

Our work is wide-ranging, collaborative and central to the ICO’s mission to uphold information rights in the digital age. We provide strategic legal and policy advice across the ICO, with a particular focus on technology and innovation. We help shape the ICO’s legal positions, manage legal risks and ensure regulatory decisions are grounded in sound legal reasoning. Our work includes: 

  • Supporting the Commissioner in determining legal approaches 
  • Advising on possible regulatory interventions 
  • Contributing to policy and guidance development 
  • Advising on innovation initiatives such as the Regulatory Sandbox 
  • Shaping ICO responses to legislative and technological developments 
  • Assisting with engagement with key external stakeholders 

Enforcement (Legal)  

We work with teams across the ICO to bring enforcement action for breaches of data protection law. We manage high-profile enforcement cases, produce legal analysis, draft decisions and provide strategic advice to senior decision makers. 

We also work alongside the Litigation Team on appeals and liaise with other directorates to contribute to the development of data protection legislation. 

FOIA and Prosecutions  

Our FOIA team primarily responds to appeals against decisions issued under the Freedom of Information Act 2000/ Environmental Information Regulations 2004, representing the Commissioner in the Tribunal and in the appellate courts.  We also advise and support on enforcement activity under the legislation.  Our Prosecution team advises and supports our criminal investigation team in relation to FOIA and data protection-related criminal activity, from the investigation stage through to prosecuting offences in the criminal courts. Further, we advise on legislative changes which interact with the criminal law. 

Litigation  

We conduct regulatory and civil litigation on behalf of the Commissioner in tribunals and courts, including judicial reviews and appeals. This covers challenges to ICO decisions under the Data Protection Act, Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and other relevant legislation.