Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2024/6218

28.10.2024

(Joined Cases C-17/22 and C-18/22, (1) HTB Neunte Immobilien Portfolio and Others)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data - Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Points (b), (c) and (f) of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) - Lawfulness of processing - Necessity of processing for the purpose of performing a contract to which the data subject is party - Necessity of processing for the purpose of complying with a legal obligation incumbent on the controller - Necessity of processing for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party - Investment fund established in the form of a limited partnership offering shares for public subscription - Request of a partner seeking to obtain the contact details of other partners with indirect shareholdings in an investment fund through a trust company)

(C/2024/6218)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: HTB Neunte Immobilien Portfolio geschlossene Investment UG & Co. KG (C-17/22) and Ökorenta Neue Energien Ökostabil IV geschlossene Investment GmbH (C-18/22)

Defendants: Müller Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (C-17/22) and WealthCap Photovoltaik 1 GmbH Co. KG, WealthCap PEIA Komplementär GmbH, WealthCap Investorenbetreuung GmbH (C-18/22)

Operative part of the judgment

1.Point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation)

must be interpreted as meaning that the processing of personal data which consists in disclosing, at the request of a partner of an investment fund established in the form of a partnership offering shares for public subscription, information on all the partners with indirect shareholdings in that fund, through trust companies, irrespective of the size of their shareholding in the capital of those funds, for the purpose of contacting them and negotiating the purchase of their shares or to coordinate with them for the purpose of reaching a consensus in connection with partners’ resolutions, may be regarded as being necessary, within the meaning of that provision, for the performance of the contract pursuant to which those partners have purchased such shareholdings, only on condition that that processing is objectively indispensable for a purpose that is integral to the contractual obligation intended for those same partners, with the result that the main subject matter of the contract could not be achieved if that processing were not to occur. That is not the case if that contract expressly prohibits the disclosure of those personal data to other shareholders.

2.Point (f) of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Regulation 2016/679

must be interpreted as meaning that such processing may be regarded as being necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by a third party, within the meaning of that provision, only on condition that that processing is strictly necessary to achieve such a legitimate interest and that, in the light of all the relevant circumstances, the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of those partners do not override that legitimate interest.

must be interpreted as meaning that that processing of personal data is justified, under that provision, where it is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject, under the law of the Member State concerned, as stated by the case-law of that Member State, on condition that that case-law is clear and precise, that its application is foreseeable for those persons subject to it and that it meets an objective of public interest and is proportionate to it.

3.Point (c) of the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Regulation 2016/679

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OJ C 198, 16.5.2022

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6218/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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Language of the case: German