Catholic Church in Denmark – Order (Denmark, 2021)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
A woman wanted to know what witnesses said about her private life during her ex-husband's annulment process in the Catholic Church. The Church denied her request, saying her ex-husband's rights were more important. This ruling shows how personal privacy can sometimes outweigh access to information.
What happened
The Catholic Church rejected a woman's request to access witness testimonies about her private life.
Who was affected
The woman whose marriage was annulled and who sought information about the testimonies given by witnesses.
What the authority found
The authority decided that the woman's right to access the information was overridden by her ex-husband's rights and the confidentiality of the witnesses.
Why this matters
This case illustrates the balance between individual access to personal data and the privacy rights of others. It serves as a reminder for organizations to carefully consider privacy implications when handling sensitive information.
View original scraped data
Original imported citations before automated processing; the processing history does not establish independent verification.
Source checks
Secondary-source text retrieved.
Automated check recorded — 18 October 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, national law identified.
Retrieved text may be a secondary summary or an announcement. These automated statuses do not establish that the original decision was read or that the record received an independent legal review. How we check sources
The complainant is an woman whose husband wanted to remarry in the Catholic Church, which required their marriage to be annulled. For this to happen, witnesses had to be called to testify before the Church about the complainant's and her ex-husband's previous life and marriage, as well as the reason for their divorce. After this interview, the complainant contacted the Catholic Church to find out what questions the witnesses were asked about the her private life and what their answers were. = The Catholic Church rejected this access request, arguing that the complainant's right of access under Article 22 of the Danish Data Protection Act could be waived because her interest in the information given by the witnesses was outweighed by the interest of the complainant's ex-husband - especially considering the testimonies in question were given by members of the complainant's ex-husband's family. The Church also highlighted that the ex-husband's freedom of religion, the confidentiality of clergy and, in particular, the rights of witnesses to have their statements protected, outweigh in this context the complainant's interest in having access to the information. In support of this assessment, it cited Article 22(1) of the Danish Data Protection Act, under which the controller may refuse to comply with an access request per Article 15 GDPR if, in a specific assessment, "the data subject’s interest in this information is found to be overridden by essential considerations of private interests." Further, the Catholic Church expressed that whilst it understood that the complainant found the processing of her information unpleasant, as she did not wish to participate in the process herself, the interests of her ex-husband prevailed in this case, as the processing was necessary for him to practise his religion and to comply with the religious conditions of the Catholic Church for remarriage. In addition, it submitted that the purpose of processing the data relating to the c
Outcome
Order
A binding order requiring the controller to take specific action.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Catholic Church in Denmark in DK
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Catholic Church in Denmark - Denmark (2021). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
Last updated: