Court: the right of erasure does not enable data to be erased from Baptismal Register
The individual requested his personal data to be erased from the Baptismal Register, because he was no longer a member of the church. In his opinion, the collected data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected. He did not give consent for his baptism or processing of his personal data. The individual also claimed that personal data entered in the register reveal religious beliefs and interfere with his religious freedom.
The parish claimed that the legal basis for the processing of data in the register is mainly the Protection of Documents and Archives and Archival Institutions Act, which classifies the registry as archival material of outstanding national importance, therefore it is not allowed to delete any of the data contained.
The Slovenian data protection authority decided that the Batismal Register is an archive document according to the national act and that the individual cannot claim the right of erasure when the processing is needed for archiving purposes in the public interest. Deletion of the data would seriously hamper the achievement of these objectives. The decision has been challenged in the court of justice. The Administrative Court upheld the decision of the SA and added that the individual is not faced with religious elements by the mere fact that the parish stores his data in the register.
