Workshop on the protection of Personal Data in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice - Foundation Office Greece and Cyprus
Event Reports
The Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, Greece Office, alongside with the Centre of International and European Economic Law and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation organized mid September a workshop aiming at analyzing the legal frame on the collection and processing of personal data, in light of the implementation in May 2018 of the new Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016. Renowned experts analysed crucial aspects of the topic in front of a large audience consisting of professors, legal professionals and students, whose questions and remarks sparkled a vibrant discussion.
The first panel of discussion under the title "The protection of Personal Data in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice in the context of the new General Regulation" was moderated by the Vice-President of the Hellenic Court of Cassation and General Director of the Hellenic National School of Judges, Mr. Dimitrios Kranis. Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Burkard Hess, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law, held the first speech and thoroughly analysed decisive judgments of the ECJ, in connection to the law-making activity of the Union in this field. Prof. Hess underlined in his presentation the role of the ECJ in the evolution of the Union law. Prof. Spyridon Vlahopoulos from the School of Law of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Member of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA)touched upon the delicate issue of the balance between the protection of Personal Data and the importance of the cross-border transfer of such data in areas such as the international commerce. He presented the relevant articles of the new Regulation, the procedural rules, the exceptions foreseen, as well as the changes in comparison to the existing legal frame. He concluded, by underlining the importance of the ECJ's case-law by using the example of the Court's Opinion C-1/15 regarding the trade agreement between the EU and Canada. Enlightening was Assoc. Prof. Lilian Mitrou from the Department of Information and Communication Systems Engineering of University of the Aegean on the "Right to be Forgotten". The ECJ has had the opportunity in numerous cases to rule on it (Google Spain etc.) and thus showing once again, how the highest EU Court has shaped the legal frame in this field.
The second part of the workshop was a roundtable discussion with top legal experts from Greece: Em. Prof. Vassilios Skouris, Former President of the Court of Justice of the European Union and President of CIEEL, Mr. Christos Yeraris, Honorary President of the Hellenic Council of State and Former President of the HDPA and Mr. Konstantinos Menoudakos, Honorary President of the Hellenic Council of State and President of the HDPA offered the audience a high-level and in-depth exchange of views on the legal status-quo, the upcoming changes, as well as the evolution of the case-law of the Greek courts (especially the Council of State). Practical aspects regarding the implementation of the new Regulation both on national and EU level where also addressed. All participants agreed upon the complexity of the matter, which of course can be attributed to the need of reaching a balance among conflicting rights, but also the necessity of the EU's activity in the matter.
