We are pleased to announce that ODI Associate, Jasmin Dizdarević, has recently authored an article published in the esteemed legal publication Pravna praksa.
The article titled GDPR and the Amount of Non-Material Compensation Claims aims to outline trends and developments in judicial practice based on the analysis of publicly available cases, with a particular emphasis on non-material compensation claims.
The author’s analysis reveals a lack of judicial practice in Slovenia when it comes to compensation claims for violations of the GDPR. Nonetheless, cases from other EU countries have provided some guidelines which the author outlines in the article.
In September 2023, the Dutch Court (Rb. Den Haag) addressed a breach of personal data protection by a public institution, where misaddressed envelopes led to a compensation dispute. Initially offering EUR 250, the data controller’s proposal was contested by the affected individual, who sought EUR 3,000. Ultimately, the court deemed EUR 500 as just compensation. In August 2023, the German court (AG Düsseldorf) ruled on a GDPR violation case, granting EUR 500 in non-material damages despite a EUR 1,000 claim, emphasizing compensation independence from the controller’s economic power and punitive measures. In Poland, a case heard before the court (Sąd Okręgowy Warszawa-Praga w Warszawie) in 2022 resulted in a EUR 212 compensation award due to a data breach. In Ireland, the Circuit Court in July 2023 granted EUR 2,000 in compensation to an employee for damages resulting from unauthorized video surveillance processing, providing guidelines on non-material damage assessment. Conversely, a German court (LG Heidelberg) awarded EUR 25 for unsolicited advertising, while the ArbG Oldenburg granted EUR 10,000 for GDPR violations to a former employee.
In the article, Jasmin Dizdarević summarizes some of the key conclusions of the Irish court, namely:
»Merely violating the GDPR is not sufficient for awarding compensation; Although there is no de minimis rule within compensation claims in the field of personal data protection, compensation for non-material damage does not extend to speculative discomfort; Compensation claims based on non-material damage must be supported by evidence, e.g., discomfort or anxiety require evidence in the form of a psychologist’s report or other medical evidence; Even if non-material damage is proven and not negligible, compensation in many cases is likely to be modest; the Irish court also refers to sectoral guidelines, where minor psychiatric damages are compensated ranging from EUR 500 to EUR 15,000, with the court cautioning that compensation can also be lower than EUR 500« (Jasmin Dizdarević, Pravna praksa, no. 8, 2024).
Analysis of court cases across the EU reveals a prevailing trend where compensations arising from non-material claims typically do not exceed EUR 2,000. Compensation claims remain distinct from GDPR fines, which can be substantial and serve both punitive and deterrent purposes.
The article by Jasmin Dizdarević concludes with the thought that the existing precedents provided by the courts are important for the further development of compensation case law in the field of GDPR and can serve as a guideline for similar cases in Slovenia, but it’s also important to consider the specific circumstances of each case. As highlighted by the author, it is certainly expected that personal data controllers bear greater responsibility when the risk involved is higher.
