TITLE 6

Protection of personal data

Article 126

1. With regard to the automatic processing of personal data transmitted pursuant to this Convention, each Contracting Party shall, no later than the time of entry into force of this Convention, adopt the national provisions required to achieve a level of protection of personal data at least equal to that resulting from the principles of the Council of Europe Convention of 28 January 1981 for the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data.

2. Personal data for which this Convention provides may not be transmitted until after the provisions for the protection of personal data as specified in paragraph t have entered into force within the territory of the Contracting Parties involved in such transmission.

3. The following provisions shall, moreover, apply in respect of the automatic processing of personal data transmitted pursuant to this Convention:

   (a) the data may be used by the recipient Contracting Party solely for the purposes for which this Convention stipulates that such data may be transmitted; such data may be used for other purposes only with the prior authorization of the Contracting Party which transmitted the data and in compliance with the legislation of the recipient Contracting Party; such authorization may be granted insofar as the national legislation of the Contracting Party transmitting the data permits;

   (b) the data may be used only by the judicial authorities and by the departments and authorities carrying out a task or performing a function in connection with the aims mentioned in paragraph (a);

   (c) the Contracting Party transmitting the data shall be obliged to ensure the accuracy thereof; should it note, either on its own initiative or further to a request by the person concerned, that the data are inaccurate or should not have been transmitted or provided, the recipient Contracting Party or Parties must be informed thereof forthwith; the latter shall be obliged to correct or destroy the data, or state that such data are inaccurate or should not have been transmitted;

   (d) a Contracting Party may not plead that another Contracting Party had transmitted inaccurate data in order to avoid its liability under its national legislation vis-a-vis an injured party; if damages are awarded against the recipient Contracting Party because of its use of inaccurate data transmitted, the Contracting Party which transmitted the data shall refund in full to the recipient Contracting Party the sums paid in damages;

   (e) the transmission and receipt of personal data must be recorded both in the data file from which they originated and in the data file in which they are incorporated;

   (f) the joint supervisory authority mentioned in Article 115 may, at the request of one of the Contracting Parties, issue an opinion on the difficulties of implementing and interpreting this Article.

4. This Article shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title II, Chapter ? and in Title IV. Paragraph 3 shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title III, Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Article 127

1. Where personal data are transmitted to another Contracting Party pursuant to the provisions of this Convention, the provisions of Article 126 shall apply to the transmission of data from a non-automated data file and to their incorporation in another non-automated data file.

2. Where, in cases other than those governed by Article 126(1), or by paragraph 1 of the present Article, personal data are transmitted to another Contracting Party pursuant to this Convention, Article 126f3) shall, with the exclusion of subparagraph (e), apply. The following provisions shall also apply:

   (a) a written record shall be kept of the transmission and receipt of personal data; this obligation shall not apply where there is no need, in order to use them, to record such data, particularly if they are not used or are used only very briefly;

   (b) the recipient Contracting Party shall guarantee, for the use of transmitted data a level of protection at least equal to that stipulated under its national legislation for the use of data of a similar nature;

   (c) access to data and the conditions under which it shall be granted, shall be governed by the national legislation of the Contracting Party to which the person concerned applies.

3. This Article shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title II, Chapter 7, and Title III, Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 as also in Title IV.

Article 128

1. The transmission of personal data for which this Convention makes provision may not take place until the Contracting Parties involved in that transmission have instructed a national supervisory authority to monitor independently, in respect of the processing of personal data in data files, compliance with the provisions of Article 126 and Article 127 and the provisions adopted in implementation thereof.

2. Insofar as the Contracting Party has, in accordance with its national legislation, instructed a supervisory authority to monitor independently, in one or more areas, compliance with the provisions on the protection of personal data not incorporated in a data file, that Contracting Party shall instruct the same authority to supervise compliance with the provisions of this Title in the areas involved.

3. This Article shall not apply to the transmission of data provided for under Title II, Chapter 7 and in Title III, Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Article 129

With regard to the transmission of personal data pursuant to Title III, Chapter 1, the Contracting Parties undertake, without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 126 and 127, to implement a level of protection for personal data which complies with the principles of Recommendation R (87) 15 of 17 September 1987 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regulating the use of personal data in the police sector. Moreover, with regard to transmission pursuant to Article 46, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) the data may be used by the recipient Contracting Party solely for the purposes indicated by the Contracting Party which provided such data and in compliance with the conditions imposed by that Contracting Party;

(b) the data may be forwarded only to police departments and authorities; such data may be communicated to other departments only with the prior authorization of the Contracting Party which provided them;

(c) the recipient Contracting Party shall, upon request, inform the Contracting Party which transmitted the data of the use made of them and of the results thus obtained.

Article 130

If personal data are transmitted through a liaison officer as referred to in Article 47 or Article 125, the provisions of this Title shall apply only where that liaison officer transmits such data to the Contracting Party which seconded him to the territory of the other Contracting Party.