In a recent judgment, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU issued a significant ruling on the balance between privacy rights and investigative powers. The case, brought before the CJEU by the Italian Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bolzano (Procura della Repubblica presso il Tribunale di Bolzano) as a preliminary reference (C-178/22), centered on the compatibility of Italian law with the EU’s Directive on privacy and electronic communications (Directive 2002/58/EC). Italian law permits access to telephone records, upon prior court authorization, for investigations into offenses including aggravated theft. However, the CJEU has now clarified that such access can only be granted for individuals suspected of involvement in “serious offences.” Notably, the Court has placed the responsibility for defining “serious offences” on individual EU member states.

This judgment establishes a crucial safeguard for privacy rights. The CJEU emphasizes that the court authorizing access to telephone records must be empowered to deny or limit such access in cases where the offense in question is deemed non-serious, thereby mitigating the potential for undue intrusion into personal communications data. This ruling underscores the CJEU’s commitment to striking a balance between national security concerns and the fundamental right to privacy enshrined in EU law. It empowers member states to define the threshold for “serious offences” while ensuring that access to personal data for investigations remains proportionate and necessary.

The press release is available here.