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Introduction


This privacy statement (the “Privacy Statement”) covers the protection of your personal data, i.e. any information that enables to identify you, whether directly or indirectly (the “Personal Data”).

The Constitutional Court (the “Court”) processes your Personal Data in order to perform its tasks carried out in the public interest, in particular:

  • - during court proceedings (actions for annulment or preliminary rulings);
  • - when you communicate with the Registry;
  • - when you contact the Court for information purposes;
  • - when you provide a service for the Court;
  • - when you carry out an internship at the Court;
  • - when you apply for a job at the Court;
  • - when you visit our premises, for example to attend a hearing;
  • - etc.

Personal Data may also be processed after you have given your consent, for example by accepting cookies when you browse the Court’s Website (the “Website”) or by completing an online form in order to be notified of a judgment or to receive the Court's newsletter. The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”) of 27 April 2016, Directive 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 and the Data Protection Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of Personal Data may, depending on the circumstances, apply to the processing of your data by the Court.

The website always includes the most recent version of this Privacy Statement. The Court may amend this Privacy Statement due to updated security measures. This Privacy Statement was adopted on 18 August 2021.

I. General Principles


The Constitutional Court collects and processes your Personal Data in order to fulfil the public interest missions it is entrusted with by the Constitution and the Special Majority Act of 6 January 1989 on the Constitutional Court (the “Special Majority Act”). Furthermore, in certain cases, the Court processes your data on the basis of your consent or an agreement.

In accordance with the GDPR, this processing is governed by the following principles:

  • - your Personal Data are processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner;
  • - only the data that are strictly necessary for the exercise of the Court's constitutional and legal duties are collected;
  • - your Personal Data are kept for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected;
  • - your Personal Data are accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. They are rectified in the event of an error;
  • - your Personal Data are processed securely.

In accordance with the provisions of the GDPR, your Personal Data are processed for one or more of the following purposes:
  • - for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Constitutional Court;
  • - for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims, in the framework of the Court's judicial capacity;
  • - for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Court is subject;
  • - for the performance of obligations and the exercise of rights specific to the Constitutional Court or the data subject in the field of labour law, social security law and social protection;
  • - for archiving or statistical purposes in the public interest.

II. Sharing Your Personal Data with Third Parties


In the course of court proceedings (actions for annulment or preliminary rulings), the Constitutional Court shares certain Personal Data with the parties to the case and certain public authorities that play a role in the proceedings.

The Constitution and the Special Majority Act oblige the Court to publish its decisions as well as certain opinions necessary for the course of the proceedings. The purpose of this obligation is to ensure that constitutional justice is open and accessible to the citizens and the media. When these documents are published, your Personal Data may be processed. At your request or on its own initiative, the Court may, in accordance with article 30quater of the Special Majority Act, anonymise these texts. More information about the Court's anonymization policy is available on this page.

Apart from judicial proceedings, the Constitutional Court does not share your Personal Data with third parties. It never uses your data for purposes other than those for which they were collected, such as commercial purposes.

III. Retention Period


Your Personal Data shall not be kept for a longer time than is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected. The length of retention varies according to the type of data and the purpose of collection.

Here are some examples of how long the Court keeps your Personal Data:

  • - IP address: we do not store IP addresses;
  • - cookies: we use two cookies: i18n_redirected and GPDR:accepted . The first cookie automatically records your language preference based on your browser's language settings. When you choose another language via the Website menu, the new language is recorded in the cookie. This cookie is necessary for the proper functioning of the Website and cannot be refused. The second cookie records your approval (or refusal) of the use of additional functional cookies. Your refusal is also recorded in a cookie in order to avoid asking you this same question every time you visit the Website.
  • - filling out the online form for being informed of a judgment: we record an e-mail address and possibly a name per docket number. Only the e-mail address is required in order to receive notification of the requested judgment. When the judgment is issued, the corresponding docket number is deleted, as are the e-mail addresses registered for this same docket number. If you register for more than one docket number, your e-mail address will be registered several times and will not be deleted until the judgment regarding the last pending case has been issued.
  • - registration to the online newsletter: we record the e-mail address and, if necessary, a name. Only the e-mail address is required to receive the newsletter. You can unsubscribe via a link in the newsletter. We use an “e-mail probing” technique to detect non-existent mailboxes and to delete the corresponding e-mail addresses. This probing is carried out once a year.
  • - The Special Majority Act does not provide for a legal retention period regarding the Court's judgments and procedural documents. In order for the Court to exercise its judicial capacity, this retention period cannot be limited in time on a general basis. In any case, however, the Court shall ensure that such retention does not extend beyond what is necessary and complies with the applicable rules on archiving.

If you believe that the Court holds Personal Data that are no longer relevant, feel free to contact us in order to request their deletion.

IV. Rights Relating to Personal Data


When the Constitutional Court uses your Personal Data, you have a number of rights, including:
  • - Right to information: you have the right to know why your Personal Data are collected, how they are processed and how long they are kept.
  • - Right to access: you have the right to access your data held by the Court.
  • - Right to rectification: you have the right to ask the Court to complete or correct your data if they are inaccurate.
  • - Right to restriction of processing: you have the right to request that the processing of your data be suspended, for example if you have lodged a complaint and are awaiting a response.
  • - Right to object: you may object to your Personal Data being processed.
  • - Right to be forgotten: you have the right to ask the Court to delete the Personal Data it holds.

These rights are not absolute and are subject to certain limitations. For example, in the context of an ongoing case, the processing of your data does not require your prior authorisation. Also, once a case has been closed, it is not possible to correct the data shared during the proceedings nor to object to it. For more information, see article 12 and following of the GDPR.

V. Security


The Constitutional Court guarantees the security (integrity and confidentiality) of your Personal Data. It uses security technology that protects your data against unauthorised access, unauthorised modification, unlawful use or loss. All appropriate measures are taken by the Court to guarantee an adequate level of security.

VI. Contact and Complaints


The Constitutional Court has appointed a Data Protection Officer (“DPO”). This independent internal controller ensures that the Court processes your Personal Data in accordance with the applicable legislation.

You can contact the DPO:

Constitutional Court

For the attention of the Data Protection Officer

Place Royale 7

1000 Brussels


If you wish to assert your rights or, should you consider that they have not been respected, if you wish to lodge a complaint about the processing of your Personal Data, you may submit a request or complaint to the Court's internal Data Protection Officer. In such a case, the Court shall only be able to provide you with information about your own data, not those of a third party. Before your request or complaint can be processed, you shall need to prove your identity by submitting an identity document bearing your signature, in order to prevent your data being passed on to a third party or being wrongly modified. If you object to the use of your Personal Data made by the Court, you may lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority. However, this Authority does not have jurisdiction over the processing of Personal Data by the Constitutional Court when it is acting in its judicial capacity.

You can contact the Data Protection Authority:

Data Protection Authority

Rue de la Presse 35

1000 Brussels