Notice on Ratification of EU Council Convents
PwC Albania and Kosovo
Building Trust in Society and Solving Important Problems
Earlier this year, the Albanian government ratified the Council of Europe Convention “On Access to Official Documents” and Protocol 108 on the Convention on the “Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data”.
I. The Convention on “Access to Official Documents” guarantees the right to access of official documents, granting exemptions only in cases where national security, defense or privacy violations can be ascertained. The ratification of the convention will enhance democracy in Albania, by making the government more transparent and more legitimate in the eyes of the public. By becoming party to this convention, Albania has vowed to take the necessary steps to modify its domestic law and procedures in order to ensure the fulfillment of its obligations.
II. The transforming protocol of the Convention on the “Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data”, seeks to modernize the existing convention in line with the 21st century developments. In light of the technological revolution, this protocol will add new safeguards to the data flows happening between borders, urging for data minimization, enlarging the category of sensitive data, increasing accountability throughout the data processing chain of operation, stronger oversight and implementation of the “privacy by design” principle. Consequently, the Albanian government has authorized the repeal of laws No. 9288 and No. 9287 dated 7.10.2004, in favor of the new changes in accordance with the protocol.
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