Developments from the CCF: Online Portal Launch & Call for Experts

The CCF moves to a new dedicated, secure online portal as the sole channel for submitting requests.

Ben Keith & Rhys Davies

Observers will have noticed a couple of updates from the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files worth flagging.

The first practical development concerns how requests are submitted. From 10:00 CET on Thursday 26 March 2026, the CCF moves to a dedicated, secure online portal as the sole channel for applications. Email and postal submissions will no longer be accepted, except in exceptional circumstances as provided for under Rule 25(2) of the CCF Operating Rules.

The portal does more than simply receive applications. Applicants and their representatives will be able to track the status of their request throughout the review process, access all communications and supporting documentation exchanged with the CCF, and consult the Commission’s decisions on their cases. Greater visibility in what can be an opaque process is a welcome step forward.

It is worth bearing in mind that the portal arrives alongside a caseload that has been building for some time. Those awaiting decisions on access, correction, or deletion requests should go in with realistic expectations about timescales — though applicants with ongoing cases will continue to receive updates by email under the existing procedure while the transition settles.

Separately, the CCF has issued a call for independent experts on the question of what constitutes an effective remedy in the context of data protection — covering rights of access, correction or deletion, revision of decisions, and the right to a reasoned decision, particularly as they apply to police information and international organisations. It is a substantive and worthwhile initiative. Bringing in independent expertise on precisely these questions has the potential to inform the Commission’s thinking in a meaningful way, and we will be following the process with interest.

Applications for the call for experts close on 27 March 2026. More information can be found here: https://www.interpol.int/Who-we-are/Commission-for-the-Control-of-INTERPOL-s-Files-CCF/CCF-Call-for-Experts

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About the Authors

Ben Keith Barrister

Ben Keith is a barrister at 5 St Andrew's Hill and co-founder of International Human Rights Advisors. He specialises in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges, extradition, asylum, and international human rights law. He has acted in cases before the European Court of Human Rights Grand Chamber, the UK Supreme Court, the African Commission, the Inter-American Commission, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the UN Committee Against Torture. He is ranked Star Individual in Chambers & Partners for extradition.

Rhys Davies Barrister

Rhys Davies is a barrister at Temple Garden Chambers and co-founder of IHR Advisors. He specialises in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges, extradition, international criminal law and human rights law. He co-authored the report Undue Influence: the UAE and Interpol with Sir David Calvert-Smith, and has provided expert commentary on Interpol to CBS 60 Minutes, Sky News and City AM. He represents clients in high-profile cases involving political persecution and transnational repression.