AJPES (Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services) – Complaint Upheld (Slovenia, 2023)

The data subject noted that AJPES, the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Related Services (the controller) made available online on the Slovenian Business Register (PRS) to the public, without any legal basis, information on the address of the permanent and temporary residence of the data subject. The data subject further argued to have sent a deletion request by e-mail concerning the personal data on 22 February 2023 and then on 24 February 2023 - requests rejected by the controller. Thus, on 27 March 2023, the data subject lodged a complaint with the Slovenian DPA. The DPA, thus, initiated its supervision procedure against the controller on the basis of the complainant's request regarding the lawfulness of the processing of personal data. Following the initiation of the proceedings, the controller stated that [http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO8547 Article 51 of the National Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act (Act)], in conjunction with [http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO8547 Article 43 of the Act], has, since 2016, required the public disclosure of the data of entities registered in the PRS, including information on their permanent and temporary residence. The Slovenian DPA observed that the controller was obliged to make public the complainant's personal data, including the address of her permanent and temporary residence, on the basis of [http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO8547 Article 51 of the Act], in conjunction with [http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO8547 Article 43 of the Act]. Such an obligation would then give rise to the exclusion ground for the right to erasure pursuant to Article 17(3)(b) GDPR. However, the DPA noted that the controller not only published the country of residence of the complainant but also the address, which was not required under the national legislation in question. Meanwhile, [http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/preg