---
title: "Contest path"
description: "The route by which a person affected by an automated decision reaches a reviewer who did not take the original decision, sees the inputs, the reasons and the person's representations, and can change…"
canonical: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/contest-path
author: "Jorge García Aibar"
license: "CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)"
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22956197
version: "0.5.0"
updated: 2026-09-25
---

# Contest path

The route by which a person affected by an automated decision reaches a reviewer who did not take the original decision, sees the inputs, the reasons and the person's representations, and can change the outcome, with the result written back to the decision record. It is how the right to contest in GDPR Article 22(3) is honoured in practice [1].

- Developed in: [ch. 19, GDPR Article 22 after SCHUFA](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/privacy-and-ai#gdpr-article-22-after-schufa); [ch. 05, Pattern: Decision Notice & Contest Path](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/patterns/decision-notice-contest-path)
- Chapters: [ch. 05, Patterns](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/patterns) · [ch. 19, Privacy & AI](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/privacy-and-ai) · [ch. 22, Principles & Standards](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/principles-and-standards)
- Contrast with: [Contestability](https://aigovernanceengineer.com/glossary/contestability)
- In the glossary chapter: https://aigovernanceengineer.com/bok/glossary#t-contest-path

## Sources

[1] Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) (Arts. 4(1), 4(5), 4(7), 4(8), 4(12), 4(14), 5, 6, 9, 12(3), 22, 25, 28(2) and 28(4), 30, 33, 35; Recital 26). Publications Office of the EU (EUR-Lex). 2016-04-27. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj/eng (verified: primary)