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1. A person concerned shall be entitled to lodge a complaint with the Controller regarding the Office’s compliance with the procedural guarantees referred to in Article 9, as well as on the grounds of an infringement of the rules applicable to investigations by the Office, in particular infringements of procedural requirements and fundamental rights. The lodging of a complaint shall have no suspensive effect on the conduct of the investigation that is the subject of the complaint.

2. Complaints shall be lodged within one month of the complainant becoming aware of the relevant facts that constitute an alleged infringement of the procedural guarantees or rules referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. In any event, they shall be lodged no more than one month after the closure of the investigation. Complaints related to the notice period referred to in Article 9(2) and (4) shall, however, be lodged before the expiry of the 10-day notice period referred to in those provisions.

3. The Controller shall inform the Director-General immediately upon receipt of a complaint.

Within 10 working days of the date of receipt, the Controller shall determine whether paragraphs 1 and 2 are complied with. In the event of compliance with paragraphs 1 and 2, the Controller shall invite the Office to take action to resolve the complaint and inform the Controller accordingly within 15 working days. In the event of non-compliance with paragraph 1 or 2, the Controller shall close the file and inform the complainant without delay.

4. Without prejudice to Article 10, the Office shall transmit to the Controller all information necessary for the Controller to assess whether the complaint is justified as well as information for the purpose of resolving the complaint and enabling the Controller to issue a recommendation.

5. The Controller shall issue a recommendation on how to resolve the complaint without delay and in any event within two months of the Office informing the Controller of the action it has taken to resolve the complaint. In the absence of receipt of information within the 15-day time limit referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph 3, the Controller shall issue a recommendation within two-months of the expiry of that time limit.

In exceptional cases the Controller may decide to extend the period for issuing a recommendation by a further 15 calendar days. The Controller shall inform the Director-General of the reasons for such an extension in writing. The Controller may recommend that the Office amend or repeal its recommendations or reports, on the grounds of an infringement of the procedural guarantees referred to in Article 9 or of the rules applicable to investigations by the Office, in particular infringements of procedural requirements and fundamental rights. Before issuing a recommendation the Controller shall consult the Supervisory Committee for its opinion. The Controller shall submit the recommendation to the Office and notify the complainant accordingly. In the absence of a recommendation by the Controller within the time limits set out in this paragraph, the Controller shall be deemed to have dismissed the complaint without a recommendation.

6. The Controller shall examine the complaint in an adversarial procedure without interfering with the conduct of the investigation under way.

The Controller may also ask witnesses to provide written or oral explanations that the Controller considers relevant to ascertaining the facts. Witnesses may refuse to provide such explanations.

7. The Director-General shall take appropriate action as warranted by the recommendation. If the Director-General decides not to follow the Controller’s recommendation, the Director-General shall communicate to the complainant and to the Controller the main reasons for that decision, unless such a communication would affect the on-going investigation. The Director-General shall state the reasons for not following the Controller’s recommendation in a note attached to the final investigation report.

8. The complaint mechanism under this Article is without prejudice to the means of redress available under the Treaties, including actions relating to compensation for damage.

9. The Director-General may request the opinion of the Controller on any matter related to procedural guarantees or fundamental rights that falls within the Controller’s mandate, including on a decision to defer informing the person concerned under Article 9(3). The Director-General shall indicate in any such request the time limit within which the Controller shall respond.

10. Without prejudice to the time limits provided for in Article 90 of the Staff Regulations, where a complaint has been lodged with the Director-General by an official or other servant of the Union in accordance with Article 90a of the Staff Regulations and the official or other servant has lodged a complaint with the Controller related to the same issue, the Director-General shall await the recommendation of the Controller before replying to the complaint.

11. The Controller shall, after consulting the Supervisory Committee, adopt implementing provisions for the handling of complaints. Those implementing provisions shall cover, in particular, detailed rules regarding:

(a) the lodging of a complaint;

(b) the exchange of information between the Supervisory Committee, the Controller and the Director-General;

(c) the process for addressing the issues raised in a complaint by the Office;

(d) the examination of a complaint in an adversarial procedure in accordance with the first subparagraph of paragraph 6;

(e) the issuing and communication of the Controller's recommendation;

(f) duly justified cases in which the Director-General may deviate from the Controller’s recommendation and the procedure to be followed in such cases.