| Applicant name | UÇKAN |
| Applicant type | Natural person |
| Number of applicants | 1 |
| Country | Turkey |
| Application no. | 67657/17 |
| Date | 18/04/2023 |
| Judges | Jovan Ilievski, président, Lorraine Schembri Orland, Diana Sârcu |
| Institution | Court |
| Type | Judgment |
| Outcome Art. 8 | Violation |
| Reason | Not necessary (prevention of crime and disorder) |
| Type of privacy | Informational privacy |
| Keywords | Data retention |
| Facts of the case | The Court notes that the applicant’s fingerprints were taken in the context of a criminal investigation carried out against him, that notwithstanding his acquittal at the end of the procedure, they were kept in the police database relating to to persons convicted or suspected, and that following a request made by the person concerned they were converted by the authorities into identification data and kept in the corresponding file. |
| Analysis | The Court notes that the contested measure of retaining the applicant’s fingerprints had the effect of making them accessible to the police in the context of any ongoing investigation, whatever the offense in question. It then observes that the relevant legislation makes no distinction in this regard which would be based on the existence or not of a conviction by a court. It finds that the law does not provide for the possibility of erasing the stored data and points to the duration of data retention – ten years after the death of the person concerned, and in any case eighty years after the date of recording – which it finds is in practice comparable to indefinite retention. Thus, the domestic legal regime does not reflect a fair balance between the competing public and private interests at stake. Therefore, the contested measure amounts to a disproportionate infringement of the applicant’s right to respect for his private life and cannot be considered necessary in a society democratic. |
| Other Article violation? | No violation 3 ECHR |
| Damage awarded | que l’État défendeur doit verser au requérant, dans un délai de trois mois, les sommes suivantes, à convertir dans la monnaie de l’État défendeur au taux applicable à la date du règlement : 2 000 EUR (deux mille euros), plus tout montant pouvant être dû à titre d’impôt sur cette somme, pour dommage moral ; 1 000 EUR (mille euros), plus tout montant pouvant être dû par le requérant à titre d’impôt sur cette somme, pour frais et dépens ; |
| Documents | Judgment |