Progress in processing the new regulation on data protection in criminal investigations

On Tuesday, February 9, 2021 the Council of Ministers approved the Draft Organic Law regulating the protection of personal data used in preventing, detecting and investigating or prosecuting criminal offenses, as well as in protecting against and preventing threats to public safety.

One of the aims of this bill is to promote international police and judicial cooperation in Europe to maintain a level of protection of citizens’ rights, with a particular emphasis on the right to privacy, as recognized in section 18.4 of the Spanish Constitution.

In fact, this regulatory framework is very important as it will regulate the personal data processing done by law enforcement, tax and judicial authorities in preventing, investigating and prosecuting offenses.

It should be stressed that data processing by those authorities was excluded from the scope of the Spanish Organic Act on Personal Data Protection and Guarantee of Digital Rights (Ley Orgánica 3/2018, de 5 de diciembre, de Protección de Datos Personales y garantía de los derechos digitales).

This new regulation comes under the European Commission’s “data protection package,” aiming to protect individuals with regard to personal data processing and free movement, and transposes Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 27, 2016 into Spanish law.

The Government has referred the draft law to Parliament, requesting that it process it urgently so it can be approved as soon as possible. We will monitor its content and processing closely and report on any developments in this blog.

Authors: Octavi Oliu and Jorge Monclús