On 7 December, Alessandra Pierucci, Chair of the Committee of Convention 108 was invited by the Chairman of the Group of Rapporteurs on Legal Co-operation of the Committee of Ministers (GR-J), Ambassador Meuwly, to address Deputies.

She presented the achievements of the Committee as well as what Convention 108 – and its modernised version, Convention 108+ – represents and has to offer to the Council of Europe and far beyond. With its principles-based approach, its transposable and easy to adapt scheme, its global vocation as it is open to the ratification of countries all over the world, including states which are not parties to the Council of Europe, Convention 108 has imposed itself a fundamental instrument enabling to create the necessary conditions for a digital society based on trust and respect for human dignity and the human rights for all.

Over four decades, the Committee of the Convention 108 has provided extensive standards and guidance on data protection and has transformed a conventional provision into a unique and lively forum of exchange and cooperation, giving to the Convention its role of bridge between national, regional and international legislations on privacy.

The Modernised Convention makes it the landmark instrument facilitating data flows and respecting human dignity in the digital age. Convention 108+ can be seen as a unique opportunity to re-instating the human being in her/his position of subject, and not a mere object of algorithmic deduction, control or surveillance while giving the necessary reassurance for data controllers in the public and private sector to process personal data on a daily basis. With its balanced standards, it sets the commonly acceptable level of protection that an individual would seek to have in an ever-expanding digital era, in order to safeguard an intimate private sphere and to fully enjoy the right to informational self-determination.

In particular, she said “The future lies in our capacity to react promptly to new challenges putting our societies at greater risk on the longer term than do the present threats we have to address. Convention 108+ is the instrument which can bring tangible and plausible benefits for every individual in protecting their personal data and privacy.”