In a construction contract dispute, where it was disputed whether the staff had worked to the extent alleged, the client requested the staff register that existed at the workplace through a disclosure. The staff register contains protected personal data, including the names and personal identity numbers of the staff and information about when the people were at work.
The question that the Supreme Court had to decide was whether the interests of the registered staff should be taken into account when a court is to order the disclosure of a document of this kind. The traditional view has been that, in principle, it is not necessary to take into account whether other persons have an interest in the content of a document whose disclosure is requested.
After obtaining a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union, that court has clarified that the Data Protection Regulation also requires that the interests of the data subjects must be taken into account and that a balancing of interests must be carried out.
In the present case, the Supreme Court finds that the client has a protected interest in being able to obtain the staff register through disclosure. This interest should carry a lot of weight. For more detailed reasons, the court considers that the registered staff's interest in the personal data being protected from disclosure weighs less heavily in this context.
However, according to the Supreme Court, special considerations apply specifically to personal identity numbers. Since the client did not explain in more detail why this information was needed, the court concludes that the disclosure order should be limited in such a way that the personal identity numbers are masked.
Case Ö 1750-20
The judgment was delivered on 29th December 2023.
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