General Public’s Access to Information on Beneficial Ownership

By: Mrs. Maria Pitta at SOTERIS PITTAS & CO LLC

European Court of Justice: the provision whereby the information on the beneficial ownership of companies incorporated within the territory of the Member States is accessible in all cases to any member of the general public is invalid            

On 22 November 2022, the European Court of Justice held that the general public’s access to information on beneficial ownership constitutes a serious interference with the fundamental rights to respect for private life and to the protection of personal data and that the interference entailed by that measure is neither limited to what is strictly necessary nor proportionate to the objective pursued. 

According to the Court, the optional provisions which allow Member States to make information on beneficial ownership available on condition of online registration and to provide, in exceptional circumstances, for an exemption from access to that information by the general public, respectively, are not capable of demonstrating either a proper balance between the objective of general interest pursued and the fundamental rights enshrined in Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, or the existence of sufficient safeguards enabling data subjects to protect their personal data effectively against the risks of abuse.