19 November 2020

The CJEU judgments in Privacy International and La Quadrature du Net and others - the return of the walking dead?

This is the kick-off event of the new Enforcing Europe - Webinar Series 1.

The Webinar Series is in media partnership with Privacy Laws & Business.

This event will be hosted in cooperation with the Government&Law research group, University of Antwerp.

Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union enumerates the values the European house is founded upon. Some of those values, like democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights are reflected in principles such as the equality of Union citizens, the Union citizenship, or the binding effect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. These principles and rights are then further developed in Union's secondary law, such as the General Data Protection Regulation.

However, without proper enforcement, EU law risks becoming a dead letter. When the foundations are weakened, the entire building becomes shaky. This webinar series will, therefore, be interested in how does (or does not) the EU protect its foundations and make sure that the values, principles, and rules of primary law are respected and enforced in the secondary law and in the Member States.

The first webinar will discuss the judgements rendered by the CJEU on data interception/retention matters in relation to Case C-623/17, Privacy International, and to Joined Cases C-511/18, La Quadrature du Net and Others, C-512/18, French Data Network and Others, and C-520/18, Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone and Others (referred to as La Quadrature du Net and Others)

In the first part of this webinar, the discussants will tackle three basic questions following the judgments:

1.  Did the CJEU sufficiently take into account the necessities of fighting crime? 
2.  Did the CJEU undermine with these judgments the coherence of its data retention case law? 
3. How will the balance between fighting crime on the one hand, and privacy rights & data protection on the other look in the future? 

After the 10-minute discussion on each question, the audience will have 10 minutes for Q&A about that question. 

In the second part of the webinar, the floor will be open for free discussion.

Suggested Readings:

Bulk data interception/retention judgments of the CJEU – A victory and a defeat for privacy by Juraj Sajfert

Op-Ed: “La Quadrature du Net e.a. : balancing data retention with general interests and the right to security…again” by Catherine Van de Heyning

Speakers: 

• Juraj Sajfert (VUB/University of Luxembourg) 
• Catherine Van de Heyning (Antwerp University)
• Christian Viese Svanberg (data protection officer of the Danish Police)

Time: 12:30 - 14:00 (Brussels time)

Program:

After the 10-minute discussion on each question, the audience will have 10 minutes for Q&A about that question. 

In the second part of the webinar, the floor will be open for free discussion.

Venue: online. The platform, together with the link to attend the event, will be communicated to the registered participants in due course.

Registration: The event is free to attend but registration is required. Should you face any difficulties with the registration form, please send an e-mail to info@brusselsprivacyhub.eu

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