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France ratifies Convention 108+

Today, 27 mars 2023, in the presence of the Deputy Secretary General,  Ambassador Marie Fontanel, Permanent Representative of France to the Council of Europe, deposited the instruments of ratification of the Amending Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data (CETS 223).

Having ratified Convention 108 in 1983, France was among its first Parties ; it became today the 22nd state to ratify the modernised Convention 108, known as Convention 108+ (Modernisation de la Convention).

This move from the host country is another strong signal to the other States Parties currently in their ratification processes. It is important to recall that Convention 108+ is a unique and global tool of regulatory harmonisation and convergence re-instating the human being in her/his position of subject, and not a mere object, of algorithmic deduction, control or surveillance.

16 more ratifications are necessary for the entry into force of this unique and landmark instrument of world reference for the protection of privacy of individuals, creating the conditions necessary for a digital society based on trust and the human rights of all. Convention 108+ aims at facilitating data flows and respecting human dignity in the digital age.

Strasbourg 27 March 2023
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Conference on Convention 108 + as the global privacy standard, building a free data transfer area while preserving human dignity

Conference on Convention 108 + as the global privacy standard, building a free data transfer area while preserving human dignity

Conference on Convention 108 + as the global privacy standard, building a free data transfer area while preserving human dignity

For 40 years, the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data - Convention 108 – has been the only international legally binding instrument on the protection of privacy and personal data. Its modernised version, Convention 108+, helps preserving human dignity while providing an enabling and secure framework to free flow of data. Read more and listen to the views of prominent personalities.

Protecting private life

You go somewhere, you buy something, you apply for a job, you pay your bills : you live... and at each of those moments of your life, your personal information is used, collected, processed. In order to protect your right to private life, with regard to the automatic processing of your personal data, the Council of Europe elaborated the "Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data".

Thirty years after its entry into force, this Convention still remains the only binding international legal instrument in the field, with a potential worldwide scope of application.

Convention 108+ Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data

 Know more on the modernised Convention 108

 Link to the document

Handbook on European data protection law - 2018 edition

Handbook on European data protection law

The rapid development of information technology has exacerbated the need for robust personal data protection, the right to which is safeguarded by both European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) instruments. Safeguarding this important right entails new and significant challenges as technological advances expand the frontiers of areas such as surveillance, communication interception and data storage. This handbook is designed to familiarise legal practitioners not specialised in data protection with this emerging area of the law. It provides an overview of the EU’s and the CoE’s applicable legal frameworks. It also explains key case law, summarising major rulings of both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, it presents hypothetical scenarios that serve as practical illustrations of the diverse issues encountered in this ever-evolving field.

Download the Handbook 

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