The right to protection of personal data is not an absolute right

The Social Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued a judgment on March 8, 2023 (Social Chamber No. 21-12.492) recalling, in reference to point (4) of the introduction to the GDPR, that " the right to the protection of personal data is not an absolute right and must be considered in relation to its function in society and balanced against other fundamental rights, in accordance with the principle of proportionality ."

In this case, the production of other employees' pay slips was essential for an employee to justify her claims. According to the High Court: " the right to proof may justify the production of evidence that infringes on personal life provided that such production is essential to the exercise of this right and that the infringement is proportionate to the aim pursued . "

This reminder seems very timely to us, because some specialists on the subject seem to forget the proportionality criterion included in the GDPR and make this text an absolute and intangible compliance tool, in defiance of simple common sense and by applying the provisions of the text (widely developed by the supervisory authorities) to the point of absurdity in their relations with their partners.

But it is true that common sense and conformity do not always go well together...