Publications Arctinos Ltd – Court Ruling (Cyprus, 2022)

The controller is a newspaper. It published an article about the alleged harassment, unnecessary and illegal detention of a Turkish Cypriot woman who was on the Police Alert-List. The article revealed the names and photographs of the two police officers carrying out these actions. These officers then lodged a complaint with the DPA of Cyprus (Commissioner). Following the receipt of the complaint, the Commissioner informed the newspaper that the publication would violate the principle of data minimisation as well as Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. However, in doing so, the Commissioner did not disclose the existence of the complaint itself. The controller did not respond to this communication from the Commissioner, who in turn contacted the newspaper again, setting a four week deadline for an answer. This time the commissioner disclosed the existence of the complaint and the complainants, without however providing the controller with a copy of the complaint. The controller's lawyer responded, stating that the first letter was inadvertently not answered, and further stated that their client had no possibility to contest the complaint because it is not aware of its content. A few days later the Commissioner imposed a fine on the controller without further notice. The controller appealed this decision with the competent Administrative Court. The Administrative Court annulled this decision on the grounds that the conduct of the Commissioner violated the right to be heard. The court referred to Article 43(1),(2) Law N. 158 (I)/1999, which is the Cypriot Law on General Principles of Administrative Law. Article 43(1) Law N. 158 (I)/1999 stipulates that everyone who is affected by an administrative measure must have the right to be heard, except in cases expressly provided by law. Article 43(2) Law N. 158 (I)/1999 stipulates that an administrative body which intends to base its decision on allegations against a person must provide that person with the opportunity to submit its