THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH-RELATED DATA IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CASE LAW
THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH-RELATED DATA IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS CASE LAW

Summary/Abstract: Health-related data (HRD) are particularly sensitive and demand special protection. In the European Court of Human Rights’ (the ECtHR) case law, HRD are protected by Article 8, which proclaims the right to private and family life. Furthermore, the ECtHR underlines that the protection of personal data has “fundamental importance” for an individual’s enjoyment of the right to privacy. The sensitivity of HRD is connected with the possibility of revealing an individual’s privacy and intimate life, which, consequently, could lead to the violation of other rights, e.g., discrimination. Under the Council of Europe, the only legally binding document related to data protection is Convention 108, while Recommendation No. R (97) 5 and Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)2 are not legally binding, but they provide guidelines on regulating HRD issues. All of these documents are germs that have been developing in the ECtHR’s case law. In order to analyze the ECtHR’s case law related to the protection of HRD, this paper aims to elucidate the meaning of some concepts, such as personal data, health-related (medical) data, the collecting and processing of data, etc. Also, this paper tends to examine: who can collect HRD, in which way they can be collected (particularly: is the consent of a data subject necessary), for which purposes, and how long should they be kept? The ECtHR claims that respecting the confidentiality of HRD is a “vital principle” not only regarding the patient’s right to privacy but also in order to preserve confidence in medical protection and health services.

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