Commercial Registers as Administrative Databases: Balancing Public Accessibility and Privacy

Countries develop various administrative databases in order to better perform governmental functions or to specifically influence certain civil relations or the behaviour of individuals. One particular and distinctive type of database containing personal data is commercial registers in Europe, which have a specific characteristic: they are accessible to the public and the data published has a binding nature. At the same time, this public accessibility of the personal data in commercial registers, especially with the increasing availability of digital technologies and their impact on society, can create a conflict with the privacy of the individuals included in these databases. This article first examines commercial registers as a form of public digitalisation, and then how the European Court of Justice, in its case law, balances the public accessibility which is an integral part of commercial registers with the right to privacy and data protection. In conclusion, the article generalises the lessons from the European Court of Justice case law and from legal scholarship that can be applied to preserve privacy, while the public accessibility of commercial registers is respected.