In the cases governed by Article 234 of the EC Treaty, the decision of the national court or tribunal shall, moreover, be notified by the Registrar of the Court to the States, other than the Member States, which are parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and also to the EFTA
Surveillance Authority referred to in that Agreement which may, within two months of notification, where one of the fields of application of that Agreement is
concerned, submit statements of case or written observations to the Court.
Mr. Schrems lodged a complaint with the Irish data protection
authority, taking the view that, in the light of the revelations made in 2013 by Edward Snowden
concerning the activities of the United States intelligence services (in particular the National Security Agency), the law and practices of the US offer no real protection against
surveillance by the US of the data transferred to that country.