Court case 42 K 25/25 – Court Ruling (Germany, 2026)

A Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation (the controller) sent another congregation an introductory letter containing the personal data of two members (the data subjects) who were changing congregations from the controller to the recipient. The data subjects did not receive a copy of this letter despite their request. They filed a complaint with the DPA in July 2023, stating that their right of access under the GDPR had been violated. The controller argued that providing access to the introductory letter would undermine confidentiality required by religious law. According to the controller, restricting the right of access was necessary to allow the elders of the congregations to fulfill their biblical mandate to care for the members as shepherds of God’s flock. The controller only provided the data subjects a short list of information about them contained in the letter. The DPA dismissed the complaint as unfounded in May 2024. It held that the restriction to the right of access was justified under Article 91(1) GDPR and the national Jehovah’s Witnesses Data Protection Act (DSGJZ), as providing access would jeopardise the religious community’s ability to fulfill its mission. The data subjects filed a lawsuit before the Administrative Court of Berlin in May 2024, claiming the right to obtain a copy of the introductory letter. The court ordered the controller to provide the data subjects access to their personal data undergoing processing by handing over a copy of the introductory letter addressed to the data subjects’ new congregation. First, the court referred to the principle of primacy of EU law and held that Article 91(1) GDPR gives precedence to the data protection rules of religious associations or communities only insofar as these rules comply with the GDPR. Second, the court concluded that the data subjects were entitled to receive the requested copy pursuant to Article 15(1) GDPR in conjunction with Article 15(3) GDPR. The court considered a merely abstract over