Case T-286/22: Action brought on 18 May 2022 — Aziz v Commission
Date: 2022-05-18
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: access to EU information, civil proceedings, criminal proceedings, data protection, personal data








C_2022359EN.01007501.xml










19.9.2022   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 359/75






Action brought on 18 May 2022 — Aziz v Commission
(Case T-286/22)
(2022/C 359/94)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicant: Ahmad Aziz (Pieta, Malta) (represented by: L. Cuschieri, lawyer)

Defendant: European Commission

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:






—


annul the implicit decision of 16 May 2022 of the European Commission, for non-provision of data in the prescribed time laid down in Articles 14(3) and 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1);










—


declare that there is a breach of Article 50 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights when authorities started two parallel criminal and civil proceedings with the same alleged facts against the applicant, on submitting his own personal data, when the applicant is already acquitted from Pakistani trial court with the same alleged facts;










—


declare that there is a breach of 14(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 when the European Commission failed to give the applicant access to his personal data in prescribed time, which was three months, and the European Commission extended more than three months’ time to the applicant’s request for the provision of his personal data;










—


declare that the European Commission infringed the principle of presumption of openness and disclosure when the European Commission failed to give the applicant access to his personal data in the prescribed time, which was three months, when parallel criminal and civil proceedings are ongoing against him.





Pleas in law and main arguments

In support of the action, the applicant relies on three pleas in law.






1.


First plea in law, alleging that the European Commission infringed Article 8 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 in failing to provide the applicant with his personal data in the prescribed three-month time limit.










2.


Second plea in law, alleging that the European Commission infringed Article 14(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 in not providing the applicant with his personal data in the prescribed three-month time limit and in extending the said time limit when the European Commission may not extend it. The failure by the European Commission to respond to an application for access to personal data within the time limit laid down in Article 14(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 amounts to a decision to refuse such access. Such time limits, laid down in the public interest, cannot be modified by the parties. Pursuant to Article 14(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, which is the specific expression of the principle of judicial protection, any refusal of access to the personal data requested from the administration may be subject to challenge by way of court proceedings.










3.


Third plea in law, alleging that the European Commission infringed the principle of presumption of openness and disclosure in failing to give the applicant access to his personal data in the prescribed three-month time limit, when parallel criminal and civil proceedings are ongoing against him with the same alleged facts. In the case of processing of personal data, it is the fundamental right of a person to obtain the copy of his personal data in ongoing criminal proceedings.






(1)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ 2018 L 295, p. 39).