Nowak v Data Protection Commissioner
The written answers given by a candidate in a professional examination, and any comments made by the examiner on them, are the candidate's personal data.
Facts
Mr Nowak, a trainee accountant, failed an examination set by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. He made a request for access to all the personal data about him held by the Institute, including his examination script. The Institute refused to provide the script, and the Irish Data Protection Commissioner rejected his complaint, on the ground that examination scripts were not personal data. Mr Nowak appealed, and the Irish Supreme Court referred questions to the Court of Justice.
Legal principle
The Court of Justice held that the written answers submitted by a candidate at a professional examination, and any comments made by an examiner with respect to those answers, constitute personal data of the candidate. The expression any information relating to an identified or identifiable person was broad, and covered information which, by reason of its content, purpose or effect, was linked to a particular person. The answers reflected the candidate's knowledge and competence, and the comments reflected the examiner's opinion of his performance. The right of access did not, however, give the candidate a right to rectify answers which were incorrect, because the accuracy of the data was to be assessed by reference to the purpose for which they were collected.
Related cases on personal data, controllers and the scope of data protection
- Breyer v Bundesrepublik Deutschland (2016) Case C-582/14
- Durant v Financial Services Authority [2003] EWCA Civ 1746
- Fashion ID GmbH & Co KG v Verbraucherzentrale NRW eV (2019) Case C-40/17
- Lindqvist (2003) Case C-101/01
- Ryneš v Úřad pro ochranu osobních údajů (2014) Case C-212/13
- Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein v Wirtschaftsakademie Schleswig-Holstein GmbH (2018) Case C-210/16
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This summary is for study and revision and is not legal advice. Although our case summaries are checked for accuracy, we do not guarantee that they are free from errors or omissions. Always read the full judgment for the court's reasoning.
