Ligue des droits de l'Homme – Court Ruling (France, 2020)

The NGO « Ligue des droits de l’Homme » brought an action for interim measures under L 521-2 of the code of Administrative justice (“CAJ”), before the administrative judge of first instance of Versailles to remove fixe and portable thermal cameras installed in Lisses’ municipal offices and used in the entrance of schools to monitor the body temperature of agents and citizens. The NGO also required to suspend the execution of the decision allowing the installation of both kinds (fixed and portable cameras). After confirming that the GDPR applied, the judge of first instance issued an order rejecting the request. Thus, the NGO appealed the order before the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) and requested mainly to annul the order, grant its request at first instance and enjoin the city of Lisses to adopt any appropriate measure to indicate that the processing of body temperature remains optional, under Art. L 521-2 CAJ. By virtue of Art. 521-2 CAJ, the interim relief judge may order any measures necessary to safeguard a fundame The supreme Court had to assess whether the right to the protection of personal data included in the right to privacy, constitute a fundamental freedom within the meaning of L 521-1 CAJ. Thus, if the judge could enjoin the city of Lisses to suspend the execution of its decision and remove the thermal cameras. Although the portable thermal cameras do not record personal data, the judge clarified that the decision based on the information captured by the thermal cameras must be regarded as a processing, within the meaning of Art. 4 GDPR. Indeed, the city report to the teachers and pupils the need to leave the school depending on the highness of the body temperatures captured. Furthermore, the judge held that the body temperature was accurate enough to identify individuals and must be regarded as a sensitive personal data under the GDPR. Regarding the lawfulness, the judge rejected all the legal bases claimed by the city and hold that the