MODEL CONTRACT CLAUSES E CORPORATE BINDING RULES: VALIDE ALTERNATIVE AL SAFE HARBOR AGREEMENT?

The ECJ’s ruling Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner has invalidated the EU-US Safe Harbor Agreement. The decision is the third step of the European Court of Justice – after the Digital Ireland and Costeja Gonzales cases – towards the acknowledgment of personal data protection as a fundamental right, pursuant to article 9 of the Treaty of Nice, and marks the rift between EU and US on the fair balance among surveillance systems and privacy laws. After the collapse of the Safe Harbor Agreement and before the implementation of the so-called Privacy Shield, binding corporate rules, for multinational organizations or groups of companies, and contract model clauses, in any other case, have been the sole compliant solutions for overseas transfers of personal data.