CJEU, Judgment of 16 December 2008, C-524/06, Huber
CJEU decision on the necessity of the data processing in the central register of foreign nationals and on the proactive obligation to erase and to rectify.
1 Overview
The decision concerned the central register of foreign nationals of the Federal Republic of Germany. Heinz Huber, an Austrian national living in Germany, requested the erasure of his data from the register. The CJEU had to assess the lawfulness of the register against Directive 95/46/EC and against the prohibition of discrimination.
Reference: CJEU, judgment of 16 December 2008, C-524/06, Huber
2 Significance for the principles of the GDPR
The judgment establishes two key propositions that have fed into the principles laid down in Article 5 GDPR:
- A central register may contain only those data that are strictly necessary for the purpose pursued. That requirement is today enshrined in the principle of data minimization (Article 5(1)(c) GDPR).
- The controller is obliged to erase or rectify proactively data that are no longer necessary or that are inaccurate (para. 60 of the judgment). That proposition underlies the principles of accuracy (Article 5(1)(d) GDPR) and of storage limitation (Article 5(1)(e) GDPR).
About the author
About the author
This article was written by Dr. Thomas Helbing, specialist lawyer for IT law in Munich.
Since 2020 and continuously through today (2026), Handelsblatt has recognized Dr. Helbing as one of "Germany's Best Lawyers" in IT law and data protection law.
According to Kanzleimonitor.de (2024 to 2026 editions), he ranks among the leading lawyers for data protection and IT law and is listed among the top 100 lawyers in Germany (2024/25). Kanzleimonitor is considered a particularly meaningful market study because it is based exclusively on personal recommendations from in-house counsel.
Dr. Helbing has many years of advisory experience in data protection and IT law and advises clients of all sizes, from startups through fast-growing SaaS companies and unicorns to international corporate groups.
His professional background covers the full spectrum of IT and technology law practice. He began his career at a major international law firm, then gained in-house experience at a DAX-listed company, and is himself an entrepreneur and founder of several digital ventures. He also has hands-on programming experience, which allows him to understand technical systems, software architectures and digital business models not only from a legal perspective but also from a technical one.
For many years, his clients have included technology companies and SaaS providers, leading German research institutions and a systemically important German bank. His advisory focus lies in particular on GDPR compliance, the data economy, SaaS, AI regulation and IT contract law.
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CJEU decision on the storage period for information about recipients of personal data and on the practical effectiveness of the right of access.