Bundesverfassungsgericht

You are here:

Data protection in court proceedings and in matters of judicial administration

The following information concerns the processing of data by the Federal Constitutional Court in the context of court proceedings (Art. 93 of the Basic Law, Grundgesetz; § 13 of the Federal Constitutional Court Act, Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz) and in matters of judicial administration (§ 63(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Federal Constitutional Court, Geschäftsordnung des Bundesverfassungsgerichts).

The Information provided here is also available for download.

Who is responsible for data processing and whom can I contact?

The controller of this website within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data protection law is:
Bundesverfassungsgericht
Schlossbezirk 3
76131 Karlsruhe
Phone: +49 (721) 9101-0
Fax: +49 (721) 9101-382
E-mail: bverfg@bundesverfassungsgericht.de
You can contact our data protection officer as follows:

Bundesverfassungsgericht

-Datenschutzbeauftragte-

Postfach 1771
76006 Karlsruhe
Phone: +49 (721) 9101-0
Fax: +49 (721) 9101-382
E-mail: datenschutz@bundesverfassungsgericht.de

The data protection officer is responsible for data protection matters only. The data protection officer cannot provide any information on court proceedings and cannot provide legal advice.

 

Personal data that is processed by the Federal Constitutional Court in court proceedings and matters of judicial administration

Personal data includes information concerning you personally but also concerning circumstances that are related to your person.

The Federal Constitutional Court processes personal data of parties to the proceedings, authorised representatives, experts and witnesses. In addition, personal data of persons not involved in the proceedings may be processed if, for example, the submissions of the parties to the proceedings contain their data.

Given that court proceedings and matters of judicial administration before the Federal Constitutional Court relate to various areas of life, data from very different categories may be necessary for conducting the proceedings (e.g. name and address, date of birth, occupation, marital status, etc.; particularly in the context of legal aid, disclosing the applicant's financial situation is also required). Depending on the subject matter of the dispute, the processed data may also include special categories of personal data within the meaning of Art. 9(1) GDPR (e.g. health data).

Purposes of and legal basis for processing personal data

Your personal data will only be processed insofar as this is necessary to perform the duties of the Federal Constitutional Court or to fulfil legal obligations. The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6(1) first sentence (e) GDPR in conjunction with § 3 of the Federal Data Protection Act, Art. 6(1) first sentence (c) GDPR and the relevant procedural provisions of the Federal Constitutional Court Act. In addition, the processing of special categories of personal data (e.g. health data) is based on Art. 9(2) (f) GDPR. 

Upon the conclusion of the proceedings, data can be processed in order to comply with statutory retention periods (§ 35b of the Federal Constitutional Court Act, § 37 of the Rules of Procedure of the Federal Constitutional Court, provisions of the Federal Archives Act, Bundesarchivgesetz). 

Where the Federal Constitutional Court processes your data based on your consent, the legal basis is Art. 6(1) first sentence (a) GDPR. 

Your personal data will only be processed for purposes other than those stated above if there is a legal basis for doing so.

From which sources may personal data be collected?

In the context of its judicial activities, the Federal Constitutional Court not only processes personal data that you transmit yourself. The Court may also collect personal data from other bodies and persons, such as parties to the proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court or to the initial proceedings, witnesses and experts, expert third parties, federal or Land institutions entitled to submit statements, and third parties entitled to be heard. In addition, information, documents or files containing your personal data may be requested by the Court from other bodies, such as administrative authorities or other courts. The legal basis for this is provided by §§ 23, 26 to 28, 77, 82, 94 of the Federal Constitutional Court Act.

If the Federal Constitutional Court conducts an oral hearing, minutes are taken and an audio recording is made of the hearing (§ 25a of the Federal Constitutional Court Act). The minutes or recordings may also contain personal data.

Who has access to your personal data?


At the Federal Constitutional Court, only staff members who are concerned with conducting the proceedings (e.g. Justices, judicial clerks, court staff with special legal training, the Senate registries, etc.) are given access to your personal data. 

In proceedings in which fees are charged (e.g. stationery costs, postal costs, abuse fees), the Federal Constitutional Court forwards the name and address of the party or parties liable to pay the fees as well as relevant procedural data to the Federal Treasury (Bundeskasse) in Halle for the purpose of collecting the fees incurred.

If the applicable statutory requirements are met, the files and documents concerning the proceedings will be transferred to the Federal Archives upon conclusion of the proceedings.

 In accordance with the applicable statutory provisions, your personal data may also be transferred to different categories of recipients should this be necessary, for example to:

- parties to proceedings in which your personal data was collected, insofar as this is necessary for conducting the proceedings;

- persons to be consulted in the proceedings (e.g. experts, witnesses), insofar as this is necessary for conducting the proceedings;

- expert third parties that are given the opportunity to submit statements in the proceedings;

- public authorities, insofar as this is necessary for the performance of their or the Court’s duties (e.g. immigration or security authorities)

- courts deciding in the initial proceedings, insofar as this is necessary for them or for the Court to perform their duties;

- parties to the initial proceedings, insofar as this is necessary for the parties to meet their obligations  or for the Court to perform its duties;

- third parties entitled to submit statements;

- persons or bodies entitled to receive information or inspect files on the basis of the applicable provisions.

Data will not be transferred to countries outside the European Union.

No use of automated decision-making procedures for deciding individual cases

The Federal Constitutional Court does not use automated decision-making procedures to perform its duties.

Are you obliged to provide your personal data?

You are obliged to provide personal data only to the extent that the Federal Constitutional Court requires such data for the proper conduct of the proceedings or is legally obliged to collect such data.

If you are obliged to provide personal data in accordance with the relevant legal basis, the legal consequences in the event of a breach of this obligation will depend on the applicable legal basis.

How long does the Federal Constitutional Court store your personal data?

The storage periods for the personal data processed in the context of court proceedings and in matters of judicial administration are determined by the provisions on retention periods that are applicable to the case files (§ 35b of the Federal Constitutional Court Act, § 37 of the Rules of Procedure of the Federal Constitutional Court and the provisions of the Federal Archives Act).

Your rights regarding data collected by the Federal Constitutional Court


1. Right of access

Pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR, you have the right to access the personal data concerning you as well as other important information such as the processing purposes or the duration of storage.

2. Right to rectification

The right to rectification (Art. 16 GDPR) allows you to have inaccurate personal data concerning you rectified.

3. Right to restriction of processing

The right to restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR) allows you to prevent further processing of personal data concerning you, in particular when other rights (e.g. the right to object) you have exercised are under review.

4. Right to erasure

The right to erasure (Art. 17 GDPR) allows you to have the controller erase data. However, this is only possible if the personal data concerning you is no longer needed – in particular with regard to the court proceedings and statutory retention periods –, if it is processed unlawfully or if the relevant consent has been withdrawn. The exceptions to this right laid down in § 35 of the Federal Data Protection Act apply.

5. Right to object

The right to object (Art. 21 GDPR) allows you to object to the further processing of your personal data under special circumstances where this processing is justified by public tasks or public interests. Pursuant to § 36 of the Federal Data Protection Act, this right does not apply if there is a compelling public interest in the processing which outweighs the interests of the data subject, or if a legal provision requires the processing of the data 

6. Right to withdraw consent

The right to withdraw consent (Art. 7(3) GDPR) allows you to withdraw your consent given under data protection law at any time. Such withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of any processing based on your consent given prior to the withdrawal.

7. Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

Without prejudice to other administrative or judicial remedies, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR) – for the Federal Constitutional Court this is the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit) – if you think that processing of your personal data violates the GDPR.

Please note that the supervisory authority only exercises supervision insofar as the Federal Constitutional Court acts in administrative matters and not when it acts in its judicial capacity.

Languages available