In an unusual decision, the City of Azul Civil and Commercial District Court 2 in the province of Buenos Aires appointed a data protection officer within the framework of a probate process.
In the case of García Gloria Beatriz s/suceción ab intestato, court file 52586, the judge appointed a data protection officer to apply the data protection policy adopted within the context of the case. The parties may contact the data protection officer to request the removal, anonymisation or pseudo-anonymisation of the data.
The judge decided that the public nature of information handled in court cases must be balanced against the parties' rights to privacy, since "privacy regulations play a valuable role in giving us room for freedom". The Court stated that digital document management systems had led to an increase in the disclosure of court information and have turned these judicial digital ecosystems into "big data epicentres". As a result, the privacy of the individuals involved must be protected.
The Personal Data Protection Law (Law 25,326) does not impose an obligation to engage a data protection officer. However, the Agency for Access to Public Information, the supervising authority, has recommended such an appointment, particularly where the public sector is affected (Resolution 40/2018).
For further information on this topic please contact Mariano Peruzzotti or Valentina Gonzalez Medina at Ojam Bullrich Flanzbaum by telephone (+54 11 4549-4900) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Ojam Bullrich Flanzbaum website can be accessed at www.ojambf.com.