Serbia
National Legal Instruments Concerning Protection of Personal Data
Legal instruments:
Within Article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, it is stipulated that “everyone shall have the right
to be informed about personal data collected about him/her, in accordance with the law, and the right to court
protection in case of their abuse”.
As previously mentioned, the data subject may initiate an appeal before the Commissioner. The Commissioner is
obliged to decide upon appeals within 30 days of lodging at the latest and an administrative dispute may be
initiated against the Commissioner’s decision.
According to the Law on Personal Data Protection adopted in 2008, the Commissioner’s decisions on appeals are
binding, final and enforceable. In theory, the Government is obliged to ensure, where necessary, that the
Commissioner’s decisions are enforced. In practice, this was proven to be difficult to implement due to numerous
reasons.
The new Law on Personal Data Protection stipulates that a data subject may submit a complaint to the Commissioner,
but it also foresees other legal instruments, such as directly initiating administrative and legal proceedings
before courts. Moreover, the new Law foresees legal protection against the Commissioner’s decisions.
The implementation of and compliance with this Law is supervised by the Commissioner.Supervision can be initiated by
knowledge acquired ex officio or learned from appellants or third parties.
Transborder Transfer of data out of the Republic of Serbia is allowed to a state party to the Council of Europe
Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data. Data can be
transferred to a state that is not a party to the Convention if its regulation provides a level of data protection
equivalent to that envisaged by the Convention. The Commissioner shall determine whether the requirements are met
and safeguards put in place for the transfer of data from the Republic of Serbia and shall authorize such transfer.
In 2019, the field of personal data protection in Serbia will most certainly undergo substantial changes, the
effects of which will become visible starting from August next year.
|