Revue québécoise de droit international Quebec Journal of International Law Revista quebequense de derecho internacional

Abstract

Personal data are today one of the most important commodities exchanged both in the private and in the public sector, between law enforcement or intelligence services. The Council of Europe has very quickly become concerned about the risks and vulnerabilities related to the respect of human rights when processing personal data, greatly supported by the interpretative activity of the European Court of Human Rights, which has been able to broaden the scope of Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to include the protection of all personal data. Public authorities are making increasing use of personal data of citizens and third-country nationals and the revelations in the field of mass surveillance are eloquent proofs of this. This article, highlighting the fact that the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights has-over the decades-mitigated violations of fundamental rights of individuals in this area, aims to underline that it is now more legitimate than ever to question whether the protection offered by the ECHR is still adequate to the contemporary challenges of personal data protection.