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Latvia / Riga District Court / C33511316

Parties have been anonymised
Policy area
Information society
Deciding body type
National Court/Tribunal
Deciding body
Riga District Court
Type
Decision
Decision date
23/05/2018

Χάρτης των Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης

Title II: Freedoms

Article 8 - Protection of personal data

VIEW FULL CASE
  • Latvia / Riga District Court / C33511316

    Key facts of the case:

     

    During June 2015, the defendant posted several photos from applicant’s property with the applicant’s name. The photos were posted with descriptions saying that the claimant is a bad neighbour, etc. The applicant also filed a complaint with the Data State Inspectorate. The Inspectorate concluded that the defendant had violated the Personal Data Protection Law (Sections 7 &10) and according to the law’s Section 32 the applicant has the right to compensation because of moral damage inflicted.

    Key legal question raised by the Court:

    Can the third party publish information about other person’s place of residence and surname without a permission?

    Outcome of the case:

    The court stated that the applicant has the right to  moral compensation since the defendant’s actions are a significant violation of fundamental rights and such a violation may cause adverse emotions. In this case, by publishing the personal data on the internet so that everyone who views the pictures can identify the applicant and his/her place of residence. In addition, because of the negative comments made under the pictures the applicant can be negatively affected in his/her work and home town.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter

    Article 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights states that everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her; such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned or some other legitimate basis laid down by law.

    The right of a person to privacy is defined in the state constitution and international law binding upon Latvia and is recognized as a fundamental right. In the opinion of the court, in analysing whether the violation of fundamental rights is due to the actions by the defendant the court has to also keep in mind the principles of international law binding upon Latvia and areas of implementation and level, given  the level of protection that is guaranteed in the above EU legal acts.

     

    Not only has the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Latvia in the judgment  of 26 January 2005 No.2004-07-01, but also the European Court of Human Rights in the judgments Amann v Switzerland, Rotaru v Romania and combined cases C-92/09 and C-93/09 Wolker and others, has stated that the right to respect for private and family life concerns different aspects, this right protects individual’s physical and moral integrity, honour and dignity, name and identity, personal data. The right to respect for private and family life regarding the processing of personal data refers to all the information that concerns an identified or identifiable person.

  • Paragraphs referring to EU Charter (original language)

    Eiropas Savienības Pamattiesību hartas 8.pants nosaka, ka ikvienai personai ir tiesības uz savu personas datu aizsardzību; šādi dati ir jāapstrādā godprātīgi, noteiktiem mērķiem un ar attiecīgās personas piekrišanu vai citu likumīgu pamatojumu, kas paredzēts tiesību aktos.

    Personas tiesības uz privātās dzīves neaizskaramību ir nostiprinātas valsts pamatlikumā un Latvijai saistošajās starptautiskajās tiesību normās un atzīstamas par cilvēka pamattiesībām. Tiesas ieskatā, izvērtējot, vai ir noticis prasītāju pamattiesību aizskārums atbildētājas rīcības dēļ, ņemami vērā arī Latvijai saistošajos starptautiskajos normatīvajos aktos ietvertie principi un to piemērošanas jomas un līmenis, ņemot vērā to aizsardzības līmeni, kāds tiek garantēts minētajos Eiropas tiesību aktos.

     

    Gan Satversmes tiesa (Satversmes tiesas 2005.gada 26.janvāra spriedums lietā Nr.2004-07-01), gan Eiropas Cilvēktiesību tiesa (2000.gada

    16.februāra spriedums lietā Amann pret Šveici, 2000.gada 4.maija spriedums lietā Rotaru pret Rumāniju, 2010.gada 9.novembra spriedumsapvienotajās lietās C-92/09 un C-93/09 Volkers u.c.) ir atzinušas, ka personas tiesības uz privātās dzīves neaizskaramību skar dažādus aspektus, tās aizsargā indivīda fizisko un garīgo integritāti, godu un cieņu, vārdu un identitāti, personas datus, tiesības uz privātās dzīves neaizskaramību attiecībā uz personas datu apstrādi, attiecas uz visu informāciju, kas skar identificētu vai identificējamu fizisku personu.