The second episode of the Oral History of Data Protection features Mr Peter J. Hustinx and focuses on the work that led to the Council of Europe’s Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, known as ‘Convention 108’.
Mr Hustinx is interviewed by Prof. Herke Kranenborg, Professor in European Data Protection and Privacy Law at Maastricht University and member of the Legal Service of the European Commission, and Prof. Gloria González Fuster, Director of the Law, Science, Technology and Society (LSTS) Research Group at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
The mini video series is a collaborative project of the European Data Protection Supervisor and LSTS Research Group at the Vrije Universitet Brussel. This series features in-depth interviews with leading experts in data protection who shed light on how the landscape of data protection has transformed over time and what lies ahead.
Background information:
Council of Europe’s Convention 108, which was opened for signature on 28 January 1981, is arguably the most important legally binding global instrument on the protection of personal data. It was preceded by a 1973 Resolution on the protection of privacy vis-à-vis electronic data banks in the private sector, Resolution 73(22), and by a similar 1974 Resolution for the public sector, Resolution 74(29).
In this interview, Mr Peter J. Hustinx revisits this groundbreaking period, revealing key insights on the discussions that accompanied the drafting of Convention 108. He also evokes his significant work as President of the Dutch Data Protection Commission, as Chair of the Article 29 Working Party, and as the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS, 2004-2015).
For background, read more:
Peter J. Hustinx (2014), ‘EU Data Protection Law: The Review of Directive 95/46/EC and the Proposed General Data Protection Regulation’, article published at the Collected Courses of the European University Institute's Academy of European Law, 24th Session on European Union Law, 1-12 July 2013, available here.
Peter J. Hustinx (2024), ‘The EDPS’ first ten years’, in Two decades of personal data protection: What next? EDPS 20th Anniversary, EDPS, pp. 14-23, available here.