Public access

Information on the implications of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 of November 22, 2022

 

With the implementation of the 5^th Money Laundering Directive, inspection in the Beneficial Owner Register on the basis of legitimate interest was converted into a public inspection in accordance with the new version of Art. 30 Para. 5. With the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in joined cases C-37/20 and C-601/20 of November 22, 2022, this provision was repealed as amended by the 5^th Money Laundering Directive.

In its reasoning, the Court of Justice of the European Union states that public access to the Beneficial Owner Register counts as an interference with the right of private and family life pursuant to Art. 7 and the right of the protection of personal data pursuant to Art. 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which, according to the Court of Justice of the European Union, is neither necessary nor proportionate with regard to the objectives of the 5^th Money Laundering Directive.

With the repeal of Art. 30 Para. 5 in the version of the 5^th Money Laundering Directive, the European legal basis for "public inspection" in accordance with section 10 BORA cease to exist. It also follows from the judgment that due to the priority of application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Section 10 BORA in the current version may not be applied, which is why the data protection requirements pursuant to Art. 5 and Art. 6 of the directly applicable General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union are no longer fulfilled.

Since the Registry Authority is obliged not only to protect personal data but also has to comply with the relevant national and European legal provisions, the "Public Inspection" application was taken offline immediately after the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union was published. We apologise for any inconveniences.