News | Association of European Data Protection Judges launched
The two-day conference on data protection for the judiciary on 9-10 December, which took place in a hybrid format with a small number of participants on site in Trier and some 53 judges attending online, was opened by Marc Bosmans, President of the Market Court, Court of Appeal, Brussels, and ERA Director Jean-Philippe Rageade. Together they announced the creation of a new association of national GDPR judges for the discussion and exchange of national practices (AEDPJ Association of EU Data Protection Judges).
Jean-Philippe Rageade commented: “When the Academy of European Law was approached by Marc Bosmans and Anne-Marie Witters, both judges at the Belgian market court, with the idea of creating this association, it was obvious to us that we should support the endeavour. Such an EU-level forum where national judges could exchange about the way they understand and apply the GDPR was missing. At ERA, together with our in-house data protection law specialist Magdalena Kędzior, we have been pleased to facilitate and provide support for the creation of the AEDPJ which serves the purpose of a coherent application of the GDPR and data protection rules within the European Union. We wish this association well and hope that it will attract a large number of members to carry out its mission. ERA will for sure remain at its side.”
Marc Bosmans, President of AEDPJ, said: “Comparative jurisprudence is a tool to achieve a better and more uniform EU jurisprudence on data protection. Any contribution, no matter how small, is welcome in order to improve data protection for the European citizens. With the full support of ERA, the AEDPJ is doing its bit to ensure this improvement in protection.”
Anne-Marie Witters, Secretary General of AEDPJ, commented: “Data Protection Authorities aim to ensure the consistent application of GDPR throughout the European Union. Judges control how personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government. Judges also supervise the decisions taken by DPA. Article 47 of the EU Charter lays down the right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial. This principle of effective judicial protection is one of the cornerstones of the EU legal order. In order to be effective, judges need a forum to exchange information and views in relation to data protection law, this is exactly what AEDPJ purports to be and we are proud to be a member of AEDPJ and very grateful for ERA’s cooperation in this respect.”