European developments
The European Court of Justice (CoJ) published an decision on the question whether article 7(f) of the Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (Directive). In summary article 7(f) provides for a legitimate ground for processing of personal data for purposes of legitimate interest. The CoJ concluded that whether a disclosure of personal data can take place based on article 7(f) depends on national law. In the matter before the CoJ it was suggested that this clause may impose an obligation to provide personal data to a claimant in view of a potential civil proceeding. In the Netherlands, article 7 (f) of the Directive is implemented in article 8f of the Dutch Data Protection Act (DDPA). This provision provides the possibility to process personal data in certain circumstances. The article itself does not, however, impose an obligation to provide personal data.