Governance
Lawful basis
Formal definition
In governance, Lawful basis refers to an operating term used for managing personal data lawfully with clear risk controls before high-impact processing begins.
What this actually means for you
Trustees and governance leads should treat Lawful basis as an operating standard: document lawful basis, retention, and safeguards before changing forms, profiling, or integrations, then review it before board and committee decisions.
Example: During a planned change window, teams apply Lawful basis as follows: before enabling a new scoring model, the team completes a DPIA and logs mitigation actions with owners. They then update team templates, reporting packs, and operating checklists for the next cycle.
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