CJEU Case C-132/21 / Judgement

BE v Nemzeti Adatvédelmi és Információszabadság Hatóság
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
Court (First Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
12/01/2023
ECLI (European case law identifier)
ECLI:EU:C:2023:2
  • CJEU Case C-132/21 / Judgement

    Key facts of the case:

    Request for a preliminary ruling from the Fővárosi Törvényszék. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Articles 77 to 79 – Remedies – Parallel exercise – Relationship – Procedural autonomy – Effectiveness of the protection rules established by that regulation – Consistent and homogeneous application of those rules throughout the European Union – Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

    Outcome of the case;

    On those grounds, the Court (First Chamber) hereby rules:

    Article 77(1), Article 78(1) and Article 79(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), read in the light of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

    must be interpreted as permitting the remedies provided for in Article 77(1) and Article 78(1) of that regulation, on the one hand, and Article 79(1) thereof, on the other, to be exercised concurrently with and independently of each other. It is for the Member States, in accordance with the principle of procedural autonomy, to lay down detailed rules as regards the relationship between those remedies in order to ensure the effective protection of the rights guaranteed by that regulation and the consistent and homogeneous application of its provisions, as well as the right to an effective remedy before a court or tribunal as referred to in Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    3 Under recitals 10, 11, 141 and 143 of Regulation 2016/679:

    ...

    (141) Every data subject should have the right to lodge a complaint with a single supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of his or her habitual residence, and the right to an effective judicial remedy in accordance with Article 47 of the Charter [of Fundamental Rights of the European Union] if the data subject considers that his or her rights under this Regulation are infringed or where the supervisory authority does not act on a complaint, partially or wholly rejects or dismisses a complaint or does not act where such action is necessary to protect the rights of the data subject. …

    22 In those circumstances, the Fővárosi Törvényszék (Budapest High Court, Hungary) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling: 

    ...

    (2) In the event that the data subject – in whose opinion the processing of personal data relating to him has infringed Regulation 2016/679 – simultaneously exercises his right to lodge a complaint under Article 77(1) of that regulation and his right to bring a legal action under Article 79(1) of the same regulation, may an interpretation in accordance with Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights be regarded as meaning:

    ...

    30 In those circumstances, in order to provide a useful answer to the referring court, it should be considered that, by its questions, which it is appropriate to examine together, that court asks, in essence, whether Article 77(1), Article 78(1) and Article 79(1) of Regulation 2016/679, read in the light of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (‘the Charter’), are to be interpreted as meaning that the remedies provided for in Article 77(1) and Article 78(1) of that regulation, on the one hand, and Article 79(1) thereof, on the other, are capable of being exercised concurrently with and independently of each other, or whether one of them has priority over the other.

    ...

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter (original language)