12. (1) In addition to the functions assigned to the Commission by virtue of its being the supervisory authority for the purposes of the Data Protection Regulation and the Directive, the general functions of the Commission shall include—

(a) any functions assigned to it by or under this Act,

(b) functions transferred to the Commission under section 14, and

(c) such other functions as may be assigned to it from time to time by or under any other enactment.

(2) The Commission shall monitor the lawfulness of processing of personal data in accordance with—

(a) Regulation (EU) No 603/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013⁵ on the establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person and on requests for comparison with Eurodac data by Member States’ law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes, and amending Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 establishing a European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (recast), and

(b) Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013⁶ establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person (recast).

(3) The Commission is designated for the purposes of Chapter IV (Mutual assistance) of the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data done at Strasbourg on the 28th day of January 1981.

(4) The Minister may, following consultation with the Commission, make any regulations that he or she considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of enabling Chapter IV (as referred to in subsection (3)) to have full effect.

(5) The Commission shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions.

(6) The Commission shall disseminate, to such extent and in such manner as it considers appropriate, information in relation to the functions performed by it.

(7) The Commission shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

(8) Subject to this Act, the Commission shall regulate its own procedures.