CJEU - C 614/10 / Judgement

European Commission v Austria
Deciding body type
Court of Justice of the European Union
Deciding body
General Court (Grand Chamber)
Type
Decision
Decision date
16/10/2012

EU:n perusoikeuskirja

Title II: Freedoms

Article 8 - Protection of personal data

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  • CJEU - C 614/10 / Judgement
    Key facts of the case:
     
    By its action, the European Commission asks the Court to declare that, by failing to take all of the measures necessary to ensure that the legislation in force in Austria meets the requirement of independence with regard to the Datenschutzkommission (Data Protection Commission; ‘the DSK’), which was established as a supervisory authority for the protection of personal data, the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obligations under the second subparagraph of Article 28(1) of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (OJ 1995 L 281, p. 31).
     
    Results (sanctions) and key consequences of the case:
     
    The Court (Grand Chamber) hereby:
    1. Declares that, by failing to take all of the measures necessary to ensure that the legislation in force in Austria meets the requirement of independence with regard to the Datenschutzkommission (Data Protection Commission), more specifically by laying down a regulatory framework under which
    • the managing member of the Datenschutzkommission is a federal official subject to supervision,
    • the office of the Datenschutzkommission is integrated with the departments of the Federal Chancellery, and
    • the Federal Chancellor has an unconditional right to information covering all aspects of the work of the Datenschutzkommission, 
    • the Republic of Austria has failed to fulfil its obligations under the second subparagraph of Article 28(1) of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data;
    1. Orders the Republic of Austria to pay the costs incurred by the European Commission;
    2. Orders the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Data Protection Supervisor to bear their own respective costs.
  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

     

    36-37, 41, 43-44, 66