CJEU, Judgment of 24 November 2011, C-468/10 and C-469/10, ASNEF
Landmark decision on the exhaustive character of the list of grounds for lawful processing and on the balancing of interests under the Data Protection Directive, transferable to Article 6(1)(f) GDPR.
1 Overview
In the joined cases ASNEF and FECEMD, the Court held that Article 7 of Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC contains an exhaustive list of the grounds on which processing may lawfully be based. The Member States may neither introduce further principles relating to the lawfulness of processing nor amend the scope of the principles provided for in Article 7.
Reference: CJEU, judgment of 24 November 2011, C-468/10 and C-469/10, ASNEF and FECEMD
2 Significance for Article 6 GDPR
This case law is transferable to Article 6(1) GDPR. The Court bases the exhaustive character of the list of grounds for lawful processing on the harmonizing effect of the Directive; the same reasoning applies a fortiori under the GDPR. The CJEU has since repeatedly referred to ASNEF in order to emphasize the uniformity of the list of grounds for lawful processing under EU law.
3 Balancing of interests under Article 7(f) of the Data Protection Directive
As regards the balancing of interests, the Court further clarified that national law may not replace that balancing exercise with blanket categorizations. The balancing must be carried out on a case-by-case basis and must take account of all relevant circumstances. This has remained the benchmark for the interpretation of Article 6(1)(f) GDPR as well.
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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