European court decides on public access to shareholder information
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that unrestricted public access to shareholder information is not required by EU law and may conflict with GDPR privacy protections. The decision emphasizes that access to such data should be conditioned on demonstrating a legitimate interest.
Why it matters
This ruling balances corporate transparency requirements with individual data privacy rights across the European Union.
On September 3, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its judgement in Case C-798/24, Jautiva , addressing the compatibility of unrestricted public access to shareholder information with European Union company law and data protection rules.
The CJEU held that EU Directive (EU) 2017/1132 relating to certain aspects of company law does not require the disclosure of information relating to all shareholders, including minority shareholders.It also held that Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) precludes national legislation making personal data relating to shareholders of public limited liability companies available to the general public where access is not subject to any conditions, such as the demonstration of a legitimate interest.
The judgement follows the principles established in the 2022 judgement in Joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, Luxembourg Business Registers (LBR), while considering them in the context of registered shareholders rather than beneficial owners.
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