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Surveillance Powers of the Police and the Protection of Personal Data

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The Police and International Human Rights Law

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Abstract

In the fight against serious crimes such as terrorism, law enforcement officials and intelligence services employ secret surveillance measures to gather personal data to prevent, detect and investigate these offences. Moreover, personal data is exchanged between public authorities, international actors, as well as private entities in order to safeguard national security. These activities inevitably interfere with fundamental rights. Although national security is a legitimate objective to achieve, fundamental human rights ought not to be disregarded in democratic States, which follow the rule of law. In this paper, the right to privacy and the protection of personal data on the international level are elucidated, the international and national (Germany) collection and transfer of personal data are elaborated upon and case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the German Constitutional Court is presented. The essential question in this paper is under which conditions interferences with the right to privacy and the right to the protection of personal data may be legally permitted. The core argument is that based on the jurisprudence of the courts, general criteria can be identified that guide lawful and proportional measures of surveillance.

Prof. Dieter Kugelmann is a Professor of Law at the German Police University, Münster, and State Commissioner for the Protection of Personal Data of Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz. Christina Kosin, LL.M., is a Ph.D. student and academic assistant in the department of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law and Crime Politics at the German Police University, Münster.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy from 8 March 2016, UN Doc. A/HRC/31/64.

  2. 2.

    Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy from 30 August 2016, UN Doc. A/71/368.

  3. 3.

    Boehm (2015), p. 51.

  4. 4.

    Copland v. the UK, No. 62617/00, 3 April 2007.

  5. 5.

    Ibid., para 41.

  6. 6.

    Kugelmann, EuGRZ (2003), p. 16.

  7. 7.

    Roman Zakharov v. Russia, No. 47143/06, 4 December 2015 [GC].

  8. 8.

    Szabó and Vissy v. Hungary, No. 37138/14, 12 January 2016.

  9. 9.

    Roman Zakharov v. Russia, No. 47143/06, 4 December 2015 [GC], para 8.

  10. 10.

    Ibid., para 13.

  11. 11.

    Ibid., para 148.

  12. 12.

    Ibid., para 171.

  13. 13.

    Kennedy v. the UK, No. 26839/05, 18 May 2010.

  14. 14.

    Ibid., para 124.

  15. 15.

    See for example N.C. v. Italy, No. 24952/94, 15 December 1998, [GC], para 56; Krone Verlag GmbH & Co v. Austria (no. 4), No. 72331/01, 26 March 2007, para 26; Centre for Legal Resources on behalf of Valentin Campeanu v. Romania, No. 48748/08, 14 July 2014, [GC], para 101.

  16. 16.

    Roman Zakharov v. Russia, No. 47143/06, 4 December 2015 [GC], paras 175–176.

  17. 17.

    Ibid., para 236.

  18. 18.

    Ibid., paras 242, 248, 251 and 255.

  19. 19.

    Ibid., paras 261, 268, 281 and 300.

  20. 20.

    Ibid., paras 302–305.

  21. 21.

    Szabó and Vissy v. Hungary, No. 37138/14, 12 January 2016, para 7.

  22. 22.

    Ibid., para 26.

  23. 23.

    Ibid., paras 9, 52 and 55.

  24. 24.

    Ibid., para 89.

  25. 25.

    Clough (2014), pp. 699–700.

  26. 26.

    CoE Treaty Office, chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 185, 29 October 2016.

  27. 27.

    Clough (2014), p. 701.

  28. 28.

    CoE Treaty Office, chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 189, 29 October 2016.

  29. 29.

    BVerfG, Beschluss des Zweiten Senats vom 21. Juni 2016 - 2 BvR 637/09 – Rn. (1-31).

  30. 30.

    Ibid., paras 3–4.

  31. 31.

    Ibid., paras 10–12.

  32. 32.

    Ibid., para 14.

  33. 33.

    Ibid., paras 27–29.

  34. 34.

    CoE Report ‘Project on Cybercrime: Final Report’, Report No ECD/567(2009)1, 15 June 2009), p. 5.

  35. 35.

    CoE Report ‘Explanatory Report to the Convention on Cybercrime’, Report No, 185, 23 November 2001, p. 55.

  36. 36.

    Muižnieks (2015a).

  37. 37.

    Muižnieks (2015b).

  38. 38.

    Ibid.

  39. 39.

    Terhechte (2016), Article 3 TEU para 33.

  40. 40.

    Cf. Kugelmann, in: Streinz (ed.) (2012), Article 39 TEU.

  41. 41.

    Kingreen (2016), Article 16 TFEU para 3.

  42. 42.

    Articles 41 et seq. of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the EP and the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data, O.J. L 8 (2001).

  43. 43.

    Ibid. Article 24 (1).

  44. 44.

    Article 28 (1) of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, O.J. L 281 (1995).

  45. 45.

    Kingreen (2016), Article 16 TFEU, para 8.

  46. 46.

    Rossi (2016), Article 72 AEUV, para 1.

  47. 47.

    Ibid.

  48. 48.

    EP Report on the US NSA surveillance programme, surveillance bodies in various Member States and their impact on EU citizens’ fundamental rights and on transatlantic cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs, Doc. No. A7-0139/2014, 21 February 2014, pp. 11–12.

  49. 49.

    Article 12 (2) EU PNR Directive.

  50. 50.

    Arts. 6, 7 and 13 EU PNR Directive.

  51. 51.

    Article 4 EU PNR Directive.

  52. 52.

    European Commission Proposal for a Directive of the EP and of the Council on the use of Passenger Name Record data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, Doc. No. COM (2011) 32 final, 2 February 2011.

  53. 53.

    Report of the EP on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the use of Passenger Name Record data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, Doc. No. C7-0039/2011, 29 April 2013.

  54. 54.

    EP/Legislative Observatory 2011/0023(COD) – 14/04/2016 Text adopted by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/summary.do?id=1439888&t=d&l=en.

  55. 55.

    European Data Protection Supervisor, Opinion 5/2015—Second Opinion on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the use of Passenger Name Record data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, para 21.

  56. 56.

    Ibid, para 12.

  57. 57.

    Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on the use and transfer of passenger name records to the United States Department of Homeland Security, O.J. L 215 (2012).

  58. 58.

    Ibid., Article 2 (2) and Article 3.

  59. 59.

    Ibid., Article 4 (1) (a).

  60. 60.

    Ibid., Article 8 (1).

  61. 61.

    Ibid., Article 13 (1).

  62. 62.

    Council Decision 2004/496/EC of 17 May 2004 on the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of PNR data by Air Carriers to the United States Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and Borer Protection, O.J. L 183 (2004).

  63. 63.

    Joined Cases C-317/04 and C-318/04, Parliament v. Council (PNR), ECLI:EU:C:2006:346, para 67.

  64. 64.

    Faull and Sorecca (2008), p. 412.

  65. 65.

    Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between Canada and the European Union on the transfer and processing of Passenger Name Record data, 18 July 2013, Doc. No. COM(2013) 528 final.

  66. 66.

    Ibid., Article 3 (1).

  67. 67.

    Opinion 1/15 (EU-Canada PNR agreement) of Advocate General Mengozzi from 8 September 2016, ECLI:EU:C:2016:656, Section VIII – Conclusion, paras 1-2.

  68. 68.

    Joined Cases C-293/12 and C-594/12 (Data Retention Directive), ECLI:EU:C:2014:238.

  69. 69.

    Ibid., paras 57–58.

  70. 70.

    Ibid., paras 60–62.

  71. 71.

    Ibid., paras 63–64.

  72. 72.

    Ibid., paras. 66–68.

  73. 73.

    Ibid., para 69.

  74. 74.

    OJ 2016, L 119, p. 1.

  75. 75.

    OJ 2016, L 119, p. 89.

  76. 76.

    Regulation 2016/679, Arts. 7 and 17.

  77. 77.

    Regulation 2016/679, Article 70 and Directive 2016/680, Article 51.

  78. 78.

    See Chapter V of Directive 2016/680.

  79. 79.

    Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for the purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme, O.J. L 8 (2010).

  80. 80.

    Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, A European terrorist finance tracking system (EU TFTS), Doc. No. COM (2013) 842 final, p. 2.

  81. 81.

    Ibid., pp. 13–14.

  82. 82.

    European Parliament legislative resolution of 11 February 2010 on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, Doc. No. P7_TA(2010)0029.

  83. 83.

    Lovelace (2015), p. 278.

  84. 84.

    EP Report on the USA NSA surveillance program, surveillance bodies in various Member States and their impact on EU citizens’ fundamental rights and on transatlantic cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs, Doc. No. PE 526.085v03-00.

  85. 85.

    Ibid., paras 1 and 5.

  86. 86.

    Ibid., para 22.

  87. 87.

    Ibid., para 88.

  88. 88.

    Ibid., para 132.

  89. 89.

    EP follow-up to the EP resolution of 12 March 2014 on the electronic mass surveillance of EU citizens, Doc. No. P8_TA(2015)0388.

  90. 90.

    Ibid., para 8.

  91. 91.

    Ibid., para 17.

  92. 92.

    Ibid., para 2.

  93. 93.

    Ibid., para 3.

  94. 94.

    Ibid., para 4.

  95. 95.

    Ibid., paras 41 and 51.

  96. 96.

    BVerfG, Urteil des Ersten Senats vom 20. April 2016, 1 BvR 966/09 and 1 BvR 1140/09 – Rn. (1-29).

  97. 97.

    Ibid., paras 16–17; 180.

  98. 98.

    Ibid., paras 112–113.

  99. 99.

    Tagesschau BKA will neue Software entwickeln – Bundestrojaner direkt aufs Handy, https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/bka-trojaner-smartphones-tablets-101.html.

  100. 100.

    Werthebach (2004), p. 245.

  101. 101.

    Regulation 1987/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), O.J. L 381 (2006) and Council Decision 2007/533/JHA of 12 June 2007 on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), O.J. L 205 (2007).

  102. 102.

    Council Decision 2004/512/EC of 8 June 2004 establishing the Visa Information System (VIS), O.J. L 213 (2004).

  103. 103.

    Council Decision 2008/615/JHA on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime, O.J. L 210 (2008).

  104. 104.

    Council Decision 2009/371/JHA of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol), O.J. L. 121 (2009).

  105. 105.

    Council Regulation 2725/2000 of 11 December 2000 concerning the establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of the Dublin Convention, O.J. L 316 (2000).

  106. 106.

    Regulation 603/2013 of the EP and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of fingerprints for the effective application of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac data by Member States’ law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes, and amending Regulation (EU) No 1077/2011 establishing a European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice, O.J. L 180 (2013).

  107. 107.

    UNGA Resolution 60/288 of 8 September 2006 on the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, Doc. No. A/RES/60/288.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Commissioner for the Protection of Personal Data, Mainz, Germany

    Dieter Kugelmann

  2. German Police University, Münster, Germany

    Christina Kosin

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  1. Dieter Kugelmann
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Correspondence to Dieter Kugelmann .

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  1. Brandenburg University of Applied Police Sciences, Oranienburg, Germany

    Ralf Alleweldt

  2. Brandenburg University of Applied Police Sciences, Oranienburg, Germany

    Guido Fickenscher

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Kugelmann, D., Kosin, C. (2018). Surveillance Powers of the Police and the Protection of Personal Data. In: Alleweldt, R., Fickenscher, G. (eds) The Police and International Human Rights Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71339-7_9

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