Huber v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Heinz Huber (plaintiff) was from Austria (a European Union member state) but moved to Germany (defendant) for work. Pursuant to domestic legislation, Germany maintained a centralized registry of the personal data of foreign nationals who resided in the country. Regarding Huber, this registry included his name, place of birth and nationality, sex, entries into Germany, and residence status, among other information. This information, however, was not maintained in a national registry for German nationals. Under European Union law, individuals had the right to freedom of movement and a right to be free of discrimination. Additionally, under Directive 95/46/EC (directive), individuals had protections for their personal data. Under Article 7 of the directive, personal data could be processed (among other situations) only as necessary for the performance of a task in the public interest. As a national of a member state, Huber believed that Germany’s registry violated the European Union law’s general principles of nondiscrimination and the requirement that data be processed only as necessary for the public interest under Article 7 of the directive. Huber sought to have his information deleted from the registry on that basis, which was denied. Huber sued, and a domestic court agreed that the registry was not consistent with European Union law. Germany appealed, and the appellate court referred the matter to the European Union Court of Justice.