During its 86th regular session, held at its headquarters in Río de Janeiro, Brazil, from March 23-27, 2015, the Inter-American Juridical Committee adopted, by consensus, the report on "Personal Data Protection," prepared by Dr. David P. Stewart, the Rapporteur for access to public information and personal data protection.
This report was written in
response to a request to the CJI by the OAS
General Assembly in June 2014, when, in
resolution
AG/RES. 2811 [XLIII-O/13], it instructed the
Inter-American Juridical Committee to prepare
proposals for the Committee on Juridical and
Political Affairs on the different ways in which
the protection of personal data can be
regulated, including a draft model law on
personal data protection, taking into account
international standards in that area.
The report adopted by the CJI
and presented to the OAS Permanent Council on
March 31, 2015, is the product of consultation
with experts and others involved in formulating
principles and practices in this field,
including some working in a European Union
context and with other regional groups, as well
as with representatives of governmental,
academic, business, and nongovernmental
institutions.
Mindful that personal privacy
and data protection continues to be a field
subject to rapid technological advances and
constantly evolving threats to privacy; and
bearing in mind the different approaches adopted
in different parts of the world in response to
those changes and threats, and the apparent lack
in our region of a uniform and coherent
approach, the CJI considered that its most
important contribution to the consolidation of a
uniform legal framework was to tap the
experience and achievements of the Americas and
other regions and come up with a proposed
framework that the States of the Americas might
apply.
Based on a number of
consultations, the Rapporteur concluded that the
CJI's most productive option would be to prepare
proposed legislative guidelines for the member
states based on 12 principles previously
espoused by the Committee (CJI/RES. 186 (LXXX-O/12)),
with a few minor amendments, rather than an
agreement on the exact details of the wording of
a specific law. In this endeavor, the Committee
benefited from some of the directives prepared
by such organizations as the European Union, the
OECD, and APEC, as well as from best practices
and experiences in this field.
The CJI is the advisory body
on juridical matters of the Organization of
American States. Its principal function is to
promote the progressive development and the
codification of international law; to study
juridical problems related to the integration of
the developing countries of the Hemisphere; and
to foster the attainment of uniformity in the
legislation of the member states.
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Document CJI doc. 474 15 rev. 2
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