UNESCO Guidelines for judicial actors on privacy and data protection

These guidelines aim to provide a general framework for judicial actors to assess matters of privacy and data protection in the face of other rights, such as freedom of expression and the right to privacy. New technologies are increasingly key to define the ways citizens relate to information, and often put forward situations where the balance between rights such as privacy and freedom of expression need to be carefully examinedby judicial actors. Reference is made to international standards and case law on privacy and data protection, which will serve as a starting point to structure the ratio decidendi (the rationale for the decision) and ratio legis (the reason for the law) behind the treatment of such right in different jurisdictions and regional, international and supranational bodies. These guidelines also identify pressing issues in the juxtaposition of privacy, data protection, freedom of expression and other human rights. They draw on reports and studies to identify areas where the tension between these rights requires careful legal analysis, such as the use of surveillance technologies for investigative and national security purposes, assurances of press freedom in the face of the privacy rights of individuals, the protection of journalists and their sources, access to public data, and cross-border data flows.