We are currently preparing claims under Article 340 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) against the European Commission.
The objective is to recover non-contractual damages of businesses following the invalidation by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on 16 July 2020 of the Commission’s Privacy Shield Decision of 12 July 2016.
Damages following the CJEU invalidation of the Commission’s Privacy Shield Decision
After the invalidation of the Commission’s Safe Harbor decision in 2015, the EU Commission and the US Government negotiated the Privacy Shield which came into effect by Commission decision on 12 July 2016. The Privacy Shield, in effect, permitted the transfer of data from the EU to companies in the US who had self-certified under Privacy Shield pursuant to Article 45 of the General Data Protection Directive.
On 16 July 2016, the Privacy Shield was invalidated by the CJEU. The CJEU held that in finding in Article 1(1) of the Privacy Shield Decision, that the United States ensures an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the Union to organisations in that third country under the EU-US Privacy Shield, the Commission disregarded the requirements of Article
45(1) of the GDPR, read in the light of Articles 7, 8 and 47 of the Charter. On that basis the CJEU held that Article 1 of the Privacy Shield Decision is incompatible with Article 45(1) of the GDPR, read in the light of Articles 7, 8 and 47 of the Charter, and is therefore invalid.
Compensation
The over 5000 Companies from the US and Europe that had certified under Privacy Shield can bring claims to compensation against the EU Commission in respect of the losses incurred by those companies as a result of certifying under Privacy Shield. These proceedings will be brought pursuant to Article 340 TFEU before the General Court of the European Union.
The People
Gerard Rudden and Professor Herwig Hofmann are advising in relation to this claim.
Gerard Rudden is a partner in Ahern Rudden Quigley Solicitors in Dublin, the firm representing Max Schrems in proceedings in Ireland and before the CJEU resulting from complaints against Facebook’s transfer of data to the US.
Professor Herwig Hofmann is the head of the Department of Law at the University of Luxembourg and specialises in European and Transnational Law, and, who as a lawyer, represents clients exclusively before the European Court of Justice and the European General Court. He was part of the legal team inter alia arguing the Safe Harbour and the Privacy Shield cases before the CJEU.
Contact:
Email: gerard.rudden@arqsolicitors.com