Light in the Bulgarian Toilet?
After a week of media focus on the hoax EU artwork by David Cerny, it is worth mentioning a story that has gone virtually unreported since December of last year. Rather than associating Bulgaria with toilets, as in Cerny’s Entropa, this event will hopefully be fondly remembered by every European as the historic turning point in the current battle for his or her civil liberties.
In the centenary of Bulgaria’s independence (Ferdinand I), and less than two years since her European Union accession, a recent ruling made by the country’s Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) should wake up the rest of Europe to what real integrity is as regards the protection of people’s privacy. What is known as the Data Retention Directive (2006/24/EC) is to be implemented in EU and EEA member states by 15 March 2009. This looks less likely to happen in Bulgaria after part of the legislation (Article 5 of Regulation #40) that were to put this directive in place was rejected by the court.
Not Constitutional
According to the SofiaEcho.com:
“Article 5 envisages that entities that provide public electronic services and or maintain public electronic information networks would provide police with access to their data whenever this access meets the Interior Ministry’s needs when conducting investigations.
The SAC ruled this definition as too vague, as it did not provide any kind of control over the ministry’s access to citizens’ personal information and did not answer to Bulgarian constitutional principles of protection of personal information of people.”
The Complaint
In January of last year the Bulgarian government issued Regulation #40, which would ensure compliance with EU’s data retention directive. Two months later, on March 19, the NGO Access to Information Programme (AIP) filed a complaint with the SAC, arguing that the regulation not only violates the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, but also the European Convention on Human Rights, and the actual text of the EU legislation itself. This complaint was first rejected by a three-member panel of the SAC (a lower instance of the court) in July, before a five-member panel of the SAC repealed this decision and also Article 5 of the challenged regulation:
“Article 5 provides for a “passive access through a computer terminal” by the Ministry of Interior, as well as access without court permission by security services and other law enforcement bodies, to all retained data by Internet and mobile communication providers.”
This, the court found:
“contradicts the provision of Art. 8 of the ECHR, the texts of the Directive 2006/24/EC, and Art. 32 and 34 of the Bulgarian Constitution. “
The Challenge
Speaking to Heise.de, AIP’s legal representative Alexander Kashumov believes the Bulgarian court’s decision could be significant for the rest of Europe:
“The decision not only protects the privacy of the Bulgarians, and especially the work of investigative journalists that are most threatened by surveillance and interception. It can also be used for the benefit of the citizens of the rest of Europe.” [translated from German]
Less than two months away from the stipulated implementation date of the EU directive, can light be seen in the Bulgarian bowl? The challenge, then, to all who care that we do not “break the back of freedom“, is to find out.
Category: geirmund.com | Tags: 2006/24/EC, Alexander Kashumov, Bulgaria, Data Retention Directive, David Cerny, Entropa, EU, Europe, Ferdinand I, Heise.de, privacy, SAC, SofiaEcho.com Comment »