Latvia’s Constitutional Court Restricts Public Access to Shareholder Personal Data

Latvia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that unrestricted public access to the personal data of individual shareholders violates the constitutional right to privacy.

In its November 9 judgment, the court found that provisions allowing anyone to obtain shareholders’ personal identification numbers and addresses without justification were incompatible with Article 96 of the Constitution.

The case was brought by 17 shareholders who challenged the disclosure of their personal information through the Enterprise Register. The court also considered an earlier ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which found that EU law does not require unrestricted disclosure of such data, including information about minority shareholders.

The judgment does not eliminate access to shareholder information for legitimate purposes. The court noted that institutions and professionals responsible for anti-money-laundering controls and sanctions compliance already have legally established access. Other parties, including prospective share buyers, may have grounds to request information where a legitimate interest can be demonstrated.

The affected provisions cease to apply from publication of the judgment. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

Source: Constitutional Court of Latvia.