Article 15Application of certain provisions of Directive 95/46/EC

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Judgments of the Court of Justice

11 decisions

• C-229/23Court of Justice of the European Union2024-06-13

  Criminal proceedings against HYA and Others

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Telecommunications sector – Processing of personal data and the protection of privacy – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Restriction of the confidentiality of electronic communications – Judicial decision authorising listening, tapping and storage in respect of telephone conversations of persons suspected of having committed a serious intentional offence – National legislation requiring that that decision must itself contain an express statement of reasons in writing, irrespective of the existence of a reasoned application made by the criminal authorities – Second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Obligation to state reasons.

• C-178/22Court of Justice of the European Union2024-04-30

  Criminal proceedings against Unknown individuals

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Confidentiality of communications – Providers of electronic communications services – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Articles 7, 8, 11 and Article 52(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Access to those data requested by a national authority having competence to prosecute offences of aggravated theft – Definition of the concept of ‘serious offence’ the prosecution of which is capable of justifying serious interference with fundamental rights – Competence of the Member States – Principle of proportionality – Scope of prior review by a court of the requests to access the data retained by providers of electronic communications services.

• C-470/21Court of Justice of the European Union2024-04-30

  La Quadrature du Net and Others v Premier ministre and Ministère de la Culture

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Confidentiality of electronic communications – Protection – Article 5 and Article 15(1) – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – National legislation aimed at combating, through action by a public authority, counterfeiting offences committed on the internet – ‘Graduated response’ procedure – Upstream collection by rightholder organisations of IP addresses used for activities infringing copyright or related rights – Downstream access by the public authority responsible for the protection of copyright and related rights to data relating to the civil identity associated with those IP addresses retained by providers of electronic communications services – Automated processing – Requirement of prior review by a court or an independent administrative body – Substantive and procedural conditions – Safeguards against the risks of abuse and against any unlawful access to or use of those data.

• C-162/22Court of Justice of the European Union2023-09-07

  A. G. v Lietuvos Respublikos generalinė prokuratūra

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Telecommunications – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Scope – Article 15(1) – Data retained by providers of electronic communications services and made available to authorities in charge of criminal proceedings – Subsequent use of those data in an investigation into misconduct in office.

• C-349/21Court of Justice of the European Union2023-02-16

  HYA and Othersprokuratura

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Telecommunications sector – Processing of personal data and the protection of privacy – Directive 2002/58 – Article 15(1) – Restriction of the confidentiality of electronic communications – Judicial decision authorising the interception, recording and storage of telephone conversations of persons suspected of having committed a serious intentional offence – Practice whereby the decision is drawn up in accordance with a pre-drafted template text that does not contain individualised reasons – Second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Obligation to state reasons.

• C-350/21Court of Justice of the European Union2022-11-17

  Proceedings brought by Spetsializirana prokuratura

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communication sector – Confidentiality of communications – Providers of electronic communications services – General and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data for a period of six months – Combatting serious crime – Access to the retained data – Informing data subjects – Right to bring an action – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) and (2) – Directive (EU) 2016/680 – Articles 13 and 54 – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8, 11 and 47 and Article 52(1).

• C-140/20Court of Justice of the European Union2022-04-05

  G.D. v The Commissioner of the Garda Síochána and Others

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Confidentiality of the communications – Providers of electronic communications services – General and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data – Access to data – Subsequent court supervision – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – Possibility for a national court to restrict the temporal effect of a declaration of the invalidity of national legislation that is incompatible with EU law – Excluded.

• C-597/19Court of Justice of the European Union2021-06-17

  Mircom International Content Management & Consulting (M.I.C.M.) Limited v Telenet BVBA

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Intellectual property – Copyright and related rights – Directive 2001/29/EC – Article 3(1) and (2) – Concept of ‘making available to the public’ – Downloading of a file containing a protected work via a peer-to-peer network and the simultaneous provision for uploading pieces of that file – Directive 2004/48/EC – Article 3(2) – Misuse of measures, procedures and remedies – Article 4 – Persons entitled to apply for the application of measures, procedures and remedies – Article 8 – Right of information – Article 13 – Concept of ‘prejudice’ – Regulation (EU) 2016/679 – Point (f) of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) – Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data – Lawfulness of processing – Directive 2002/58/EC – Article 15(1) – Legislative measures to restrict the scope of the rights and obligations – Fundamental rights – Articles 7 and 8, Article 17(2) and the first paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European.

• C-746/18Court of Justice of the European Union2021-03-02

  Criminal proceedings against H. K

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Directive 2002/58/EC – Providers of electronic communications services – Confidentiality of the communications – Limitations – Article 15(1) – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Legislation providing for the general and indiscriminate retention of traffic and location data by providers of electronic communications services – Access of national authorities to retained data for the purpose of investigations – Combating of crime in general – Authorisation given by the public prosecutor’s office – Use of data in criminal proceedings as evidence – Admissibility.

• C-623/17Court of Justice of the European Union2020-10-06

  Privacy International v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Others

  Reference for a preliminary ruling – Processing of personal data in the electronic communications sector – Providers of electronic communications services – General and indiscriminate transmission of traffic data and location data – Safeguarding of national security – Directive 2002/58/EC – Scope – Article 1(3) and Article 3 – Confidentiality of electronic communications – Protection – Article 5 and Article 15(1) – Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Articles 7, 8 and 11 and Article 52(1) – Article 4(2) TEU.

• C-207/16Court of Justice of the European Union2018-10-02

  Proceedings brought by Ministerio Fiscal

  Reference for a preliminary ruling — Electronic communications — Processing of personal data — Directive 2002/58/EC — Articles 1 and 3 — Scope — Confidentiality of electronic communications — Protection — Article 5 and Article 15(1) — Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union — Articles 7 and 8 — Data processed in connection with the provision of electronic communications services — Access of national authorities to the data for the purposes of an investigation — Threshold of seriousness of an offence capable of justifying access to the data.