CJEU case C-12/25 – CJEU Judgment (European Union, 2026)

The data subject was baptised as a minor. The name, date and place of birth and place of baptism were recorded in the baptismal register with the Bisdom Gent (Diocese of Ghent, controller). The baptismal register is a physical book that indicates the date of birth and the place of baptism. It is kept in a safeguarded storage (for example in a locked safe or dedicated room) that only a limited amount of persons affiliated with the Diocese have access to. After the data subject departed from the Church, they requested the controller to erase their personal data from the register. The controller recorded the departure of the data subject from the church with an annotation in the baptismal register. Upon the request, the controller stroke through the personal data of the data subject from the registry, however, it remained legible. The data subject complained with the DPA. The DPA found an infringement of the GDPR. The controller appealed the decision with the Court of Appeal of Brussels. The Court of Appeal, having doubts about the interpretation of the GDPR, referred the question to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling whether an individual who was baptised as a minor and who, as an adult, wishes to dissociate themselves from the religious community in question, has the right to have their personal data erased from the baptismal register. The referring court also wishes to know whether the mere annotation, in the margin of the baptismal register, that a person has left the religious community constitutes ‘erasure’ within the meaning of Article 17(1) and (3) of the GDPR. The Advocate General structured the opinion under the aspects of applicability of the GDPR, right to erasure, archiving in the public interest or historical research, and the concept of "erasure". = Firstly, according to the Advocate General Medina, the baptismal register is to be considered a filing system under Article 4(6) GDPR. Therefore, the GDPR is applicable despite the manual processing of the