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JURISPRUDENCIA Roj: STS 1401/2024 - ECLI:ES:TS:2024:1401 Id Cendoj: 28079130032024100053 Órgano: Tribunal Supremo. Sala de lo Contencioso Sede: Madrid Sección: 3 Fecha: 04/03/2024 Nº de Recurso: 7418/2022 Nº de Resolución: 374/2024 Procedimiento: Recurso de Casación Contencioso-Administrativo (L.O. 7/2015) Ponente: DIEGO CORDOBA CASTROVERDE Tipo de Resolución: Sentencia Resoluciones del caso: SAN 3660/2022, ATS 846/2023, STS 1401/2024 TRIBUNALSUPREMO Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo Sección Tercera Sentencia núm. 374/2024 Fecha de sentencia: 04/03/2024 Tipo de procedimiento: R. CASACION Número del procedimiento: 7418/2022 Fallo/Acuerdo: Fecha de Vista: 20/02/2024 Ponente: Excmo. Sr. D. Diego Córdoba Castroverde Procedencia: AUD.NACIONAL SALA C/A. SECCION 1 Letrado de la Administración de Justicia: Ilmo. Sr. D. Luis Martín Contreras Transcrito por: Nota: R. CASACION núm.: 7418/2022 Ponente: Excmo. Sr. D. Diego Córdoba Castroverde Letrado de la Administración de Justicia: Ilmo. Sr. D. Luis Martín Contreras TRIBUNAL SUPREMO Sala de lo Contencioso-Administrativo Sección Tercera Sentencia núm. 374/2024 Excmos. Sres. y Excma. Sra. D. Eduardo Espín Templado, presidente D. José Manuel Bandrés Sánchez-Cruzat 1

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D. Eliseo v. Spanish Personal Data Protection Agency

Case Law

Country

Spain

Country Location

Latitude: 40.17158238163279

Longitude: -3.6606463193890733

Country Location (linked Case Law): Spain

Decision Date: Mar 4, 2024

Case Status: Closed

Case Outcome (Procedural)

Affirmed Lower Court

Case Outcome (Disposition)

Judgment in Favor of Defendant/ Acquittal

Keywords

Defamation / Reputation
Digital Rights
Right to be Forgotten

Judicial Body: Supreme Court (court of final appeal)

Court Name: Supreme Court of Spain

Case Number: 7418/2022

Case Summary: The Supreme Court of Spain rejected a right to be forgotten claim lodged by the relatives of a court clerk who participated in the case in which the Spanish poet Miguel Hernández was sentenced to death in 1940. The son of Mr. D. Nemesio, who died in 1998, filed a lawsuit against the Spanish Personal Data Protection Agency to remove eighteen websites containing allegedly inaccurate information about his father. The defendant argued that the information was of public interest and had historical relevance since it regarded the events surrounding the poet’s death, and requested that the case be dismissed. After weighing the rights at stake, the Court held that, in matters of public interest and historical relevance, the right to access information and freedom of expression should prevail over the right to be forgotten. The Court held that the legal protection of the data of living persons is the same as that of the deceased. However, the Court found that the inaccuracies alleged by the petitioner were irrelevant or mere details in contrast to the essence of the information on the websites. The Court concluded, in this case, that the right to be forgotten should not apply because the facts surrounding the death of Hernández concern historical or scientific research of significant public interest, protected by freedom of expression and access to information. The Court found that allowing the removal of information of historical relevance would make impossible any robust public inquiry and debate about the past.

Case Significance: The decision of the Supreme Court of Spain expanded freedom of expression by rejecting a right to be forgotten request that sought to suppress information on the internet regarding issues of public interest and historical relevance, such as the events surrounding the death of the poet Miguel Hernandez in 1940. The Court consolidated legal standards about the protection of freedom of expression and access to information regarding historical and scientific research when weighed against the right to honor of the persons involved in those episodes. Considering that the elimination of information of historical relevance would make public debate on the past impossible, the Court strengthened the legal protection of vigorous debates on matters of public interest relevant to Spain’s history.

The decision establishes a binding or persuasive precedent within its jurisdiction.

Source URL: Global Freedom of Expression

Collection

Columbia

Date Updated: Jul 19, 2024

Primary Documents

Judgment (in Spanish)
Spanish
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