AZOP – Court Ruling (Croatia, 2025)

A data subject submitted an access request under Article 15 GDPR to a social services authority (the Croatian Institute for Social Work, the controller), seeking full information about the processing of his personal data. The controller did not respond or provide the requested data. The data subject filed a complaint with DPA on 13 June 2024. The data subject initiated an administrative court procedure on 21 August 2024 against the DPA for a failure to act. The DPA eventually issued a decision upholding the complaint and ordering the controller to comply on 29 August 2024. The Court held that if a controller fails to provide full access to personal data in response to an Article 15 GDPR request, this constitutes a violation, and the DPA must issue a decision within the legal deadline or face judicial review for "administrative silence" (inactivity). Additionally, the court held that when the DPA issues a decision during litigation that fully satisfies the claimant’s request, the administrative dispute must be dismissed under national law and the claimant is entitled to reimbursement of legal costs — in this case, €1,250.