Protection of personal data processed by the Administrative Tribunal
In the exercise of its judicial functions, the Administrative Tribunal collects and processes personal data for the purpose of ensuring the proper conduct of judicial proceedings and, in particular, for ensuring the communication of procedural documents to the parties to proceedings.
The purpose of such processing is also to enable the dissemination of useful information concerning judicial proceedings, pending or closed, in accordance with the principle of transparency.
The information in question is provided for in the Statute of the Tribunal and its Rules of Procedure, respectively. These texts can be consulted on the dedicated pages of the Tribunal’s website.
When processing personal data, the Administrative Tribunal is subject to special requirements, which arise from the very nature of its judicial functions and, in particular, from the need to respect the principles of judicial independence and transparency of judicial proceedings.
In keeping with these principles, the Council of Europe Regulations on the Protection of Personal Data, which entered into force on 1 January 2023 following the adoption by the Committee of Ministers of Resolution CM/Res(2022)14, provide in Article 3.3 that:
“The processing of personal data by the Administrative Tribunal of the Council of Europe in the framework of its judicial activities shall be regulated by the Statute of the Tribunal and its own rules.”
Accordingly, the Administrative Tribunal has decided to apply the provisions of the said Regulations mutatis mutandis, to any collection and processing of personal data carried out by it in the course of its judicial activities, except for the provisions under Sections III (Advisory and supervisory authorities) and IV (Remedies and sanctions).
It is important to note that the processing of personal data in the Tribunal’s judgments is governed by Article 14.5 of its Statute which provides that “The Tribunal’s judgments shall be published on its website, following deletion of any information likely to permit a member of the general public to identify the appellant or any witnesses mentioned therein.”
Any data subject may submit a request to the Registrar if he or she believes that there has been an infringement of his or her rights under the rules that apply to data processing carried out by the Tribunal in the exercise of its judicial functions.
The Registrar then has one month to decide on the request, after which any failure to reply is deemed to constitute an implied decision rejecting the request.
A complaint about the Registrar’s decision may be made, within one month, to the regular or deputy judge of the Administrative Tribunal appointed by the Chair of the Tribunal as supervisory authority.
The supervisory authority conducts a review of the factual and legal grounds relied on. It may amend or uphold the contested decision, replacing it with its own decision. The supervisory authority has two months to decide on a complaint. If it fails to do so, it is deemed to have upheld the Registrar’s decision against which the complaint was lodged. This decision is final.