What is Data Protection?

Data Protection is the means by which the privacy rights of individuals are safeguarded in relation to the collecting and processing of their personal data. The Courts Service has overall responsibility for ensuring compliance with Data Protection legislation in relation to personal data it controls. This is enforced in legislation through the Data Protection Act 2018 which the Data Protection Office of the Courts Service is obliged to comply with.

All employees of the Courts Service who control and/or process the use of personal data are individually responsible for compliance with the data protection legislation and regulation.

What is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was adopted in 2016 and came into force across Europe on 25 May 2018.

The GDPR replaces existing data protection rules under the Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the  Council, and our national Data Protection laws (Data Protection Acts 1988-2003) have been  amended by the Data Protection Act, 2018 to take account of the new requirements. The new legislation is known as the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018.

What are the main objectives of the GDPR?

The GDPR standardises and strengthens the right of all European citizens to data privacy.

In general, the GDPR has the following main objectives:

  • harmonising and simplifying the framework for the digital single market;
  • putting individuals in control of their data; and
  • formulating a modern data protection governance.

At the centre of the new General Data Protection Regulation is the requirement for organisations to be fully transparent about how they are using and safeguarding personal data, and the necessity for all organisations to be able to demonstrate accountability for their data processing activities.