Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:836
Date: 2013-12-12
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Approximation of laws;Fundamental rights;Data protection
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Eighth Chamber), 12 December 2013 1. EU Law — Interpretation — Texts in several languages — Differences between the various language versions — Taking into account the real intention of its author and the aim which that author seeks to achieve (European Parliament and Council Directive 95/46, Art. 12(a)) 2. Approximation of laws — Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data — Directive 95/46 — Exercising a right of access to personal data — Levying of fees by a national public authority — Lawfulness — Condition (European Parliament and Council Directive 95/46, Art. 12(a)) 3. Approximation of laws — Protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data — Directive 95/46 — Exercising a right of access to personal data — Levying of fees by a national public authority — Determining those fees — Conditions — Fees not to exceed the cost of communicating such data — Verification a matter for the national court (European Parliament and Council Directive 95/46, Art. 12(a)) 1. See the text of the decision. (see para 19) 2. Article 12(a) of Directive 95/46 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data must be interpreted as not precluding the levying of fees in respect of the communication of personal data by a public authority, so long as they are not excessive. (see paras 22, 23, operative part 1) 3. It is for any Member State which requires payment of a fee from individuals exercising the right to access the data referred to in Article 12(a) of Directive 95/46 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data to fix that fee at a level which constitutes a fair balance between, on the one hand, the interest of the data subject in protecting his privacy, in particular through his right to have the data communicated to him in an intelligible form, so that he is able, if necessary, to exercise his rights to rectification, erasure and blocking of the data (in the event that the processing of the data does not comply with the directive) and his rights to object and to bring legal proceedings and, on the other, the burden which the obligation to communicate such data represents for the controller. Moreover, for the purposes of applying Article 12(a) of Directive 95/46, where a national public authority levies a fee on an individual exercising the right to access personal data relating to him, the level of that fee should not exceed the cost of communicating such data. That upper limit does not prevent the Member States from fixing such fees at a lower level in order to ensure that all individuals retain an effective right to access such data. Accordingly, Article 12(a) of Directive 95/46 must be interpreted as meaning that, in order to ensure that fees levied when the right to access personal data is exercised are not excessive for the purposes of that provision, the level of those fees must not exceed the cost of communicating such data. It is for the national court to carry out any verifications necessary, having regard to the circumstances of the case. (see paras 28, 30, 31, operative part 2)