CE - N° 441065
| CE - N° 441065 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court: | CE (France) |
| Jurisdiction: | France |
| Relevant Law: | Article 4(1) GDPR Article 4(2) GDPR Article 7 GDPR Article 8 GDPR Article 9(1) GDPR Article 9(2)(a) GDPR Article 9(2)(g) GDPR Article 9(2)(h) GDPR Article 35 GDPR L 521-2 Code of Administrative Justice |
| Decided: | 26.06.2020 |
| Published: | |
| Parties: | Ligue des droits de l'Homme Commune de Lisses |
| National Case Number/Name: | N° 441065 |
| European Case Law Identifier: | |
| Appeal from: | Tribunal administratif de Versailles |
| Appeal to: | Not appealed |
| Original Language(s): | French |
| Original Source: | Conseil d'Etat (in French) |
| Initial Contributor: | n/a |
The cameras capturing body temperature were set in front of schools without a lawful basis under Article 9 GDPR and could trigger the urgency interim procedure under Art. L 521-2 of the French code of Administrative Justice. The interim relief judge is entitled to enjoin the administrative authority which allowed the processing to remove the cameras and to suspend the effect of the administrative decision authorising the processing of these sensitive data.
English Summary
Facts
The NGO « Ligue des droits de l’Homme » brought an action for interim measures under L 521-2 of the code of Administrative justice (“CAJ”), before the administrative judge of first instance of Versailles to remove fixed and mobile thermal cameras installed in Lisses’ municipal offices and used at the entrance of schools to monitor the body temperature of agents and citizens. The NGO also required to suspend the execution of the decision allowing the installation of both kinds (fixed and mobile cameras).
After confirming that the GDPR applied, the judge of first instance issued an order rejecting the request. Thus, the NGO appealed the order before the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) and requested mainly to annul the order, grant its request at first instance and enjoin the city of Lisses to adopt any appropriate measure to indicate that the processing of body temperature remains optional, under Art. L 521-2 CAJ.
By virtue of Art. 521-2 CAJ, the interim relief judge may order any measures necessary to safeguard a fundamental freedom.
Dispute
The supreme Court had to assess whether the right to the protection of personal data included in the right to privacy, constitute a fundamental freedom within the meaning of L 521-2 CAJ. Thus, if the judge could enjoin the city of Lisses to suspend the execution of its decision and remove the thermal cameras.
Holding
Although the mobile thermal cameras do not record personal data, the judge clarified that the decision based on the information captured by the thermal cameras must be regarded as a processing, within the meaning of Art. 4 GDPR. Indeed, the City had already asked to the teachers and pupils to leave the school depending on the highness of the body temperatures captured.
Furthermore, the judge held that the body temperature was accurate enough to identify individuals and must be regarded as a sensitive personal data under Articles 4 and 9 GDPR.
Regarding the lawfulness, the judge rejected all the legal bases claimed by the City and held that the processing was manifestly unlawful. Indeed, no provision has been taken regarding the thermal cameras installed by the City (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR), no provision on the necessity of the processing with regard to a health policy has been implemented (Article 9(2)(g) GDPR), and the City did not demonstrate that the consent has been collected prior to the data processing (Article 9(1)(a) and Articles 7 and 8 GDPR).
The Court added that the processing of sensitive personal data regardless the prior performance of a data protection impact assessment – under Article 35 GDPR - was sufficient to be regarded as unlawful.
As a consequence, the right to the protection of personal data has been manifestly infringed and the NGO rightly asked for the suspension of the execution of the measure and the removal of the mobile thermal cameras.
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English Machine Translation of the Decision
The decision below is a machine translation of the French original. Please refer to the French original for more details.
