What Constitutes Personal Information According to EU Law? The Examination Script Example

In a case recently brought before the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the Advocate General provided an opinion according to which a candidate’s examination script, as well as the comments made on the script by the examiner, is personal data the candidate is entitled to receive.

In that matter, a person who was a trainee accountant failed to pass an examination of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland. He requested to receive his examination script, but the Institute of Chartered Accountants refused to release it to him, arguing that it is not personal data. The trainee accountant initiated legal proceedings in Irish courts, and the case was referred to the ECJ.

In her opinion submitted to the ECJ prior to its ruling, the ECJ Advocate General noted that as the examination script links the script to the examination candidate (directly or indirectly, including when the exam script only bears an ID number or a bar code) who produced it, it follows that the script records the candidate’s participation in the exam and how he performed. This turns such script into personal data. And as the comments of the examiner on the examination script are inseparable from the script itself (which is to be regarded as the personal data of the examination candidate), such comments are also personal data of the examination candidate. The Advocate General’s conclusion is that the examination candidate has the right to access the examination script and the examiner’s comments on it.

While the ECJ is not bound by the opinion of the Advocate General, this opinion does provide us with insight into the ongoing expansion of what is considered personal data. This opinion should also be taken as referring to any type of exam, be it a professional exam, as is the case here, exams in the context of HR services, etc. One should always be aware of the scope of personal data and the rights that come along with them.