The written answers given in a professional examination and any notes made by the examiner concerning these answers constitute the personal data of the candidate to which he or she has a right of access, the Court of Justice of the EU found in a judgment returned on Wednesday 20 December (C-434/16), upholding the conclusions of the Advocate General (see EUROPE 11834).
In this case, an Irish citizen who failed an examination set by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland challenged a decision denying him access to his exam script, on the grounds that there were no personal data in it.
The Irish Supreme Court, to which the appeal was brought, referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling to determine whether the information concerning the candidate on an exam script constitutes personal data within the meaning of Directive 95/46/EC.
In its judgment, the Court makes a broad interpretation of the expression “any information” in the framework of the definition of the notion of personal data within the directive, taking the view that it covers information of all kinds, both objective and subjective, in the form of opinions or assessments, as long as they relate to the person in question.
According to the Court, the written answers provided by a candidate in a professional examination constitute such information relating to that person, as the content of these answers reflects the level of his or her knowledge, skills, thought process, judgment and critical ability. The same goes for the examiner’s notes concerning the candidate’s answers which, according to the Court, reflect the examiner’s opinion or judgment of the candidate’s individual performances.
The Court also notes that rights of access, conservation and destruction provided for by the directive apply to written answers provided by the candidate and the examiner’s notes concerning the candidate. The right of amendment may be exercised only if the copy has been lost or there is has been a mistake in its allocation, it finds.
Lastly, the Court states that these rights do not extend to the exam questions, which do not constitute the candidate’s personal data as such. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)