| dc.description.abstract | The past three decades have been marked by the proliferation of highly
sophisticated pan-European databases processing a wide range of personal data
collected by different categories of third-country nationals. At present, three databases
are fully operational; the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), the
Visa Information System (VIS) and Eurodac, which largely target ‘unwanted’ irregular
migrants, visa applicants and applicants for international protection respectively. The
momentum for immigration databases is currently high, as in addition to significant
reforms to the legal regime of the existing schemes, the EU legislator envisages the
setting up of an Entry/Exit System, as well as databases for residence permits, long-stay
visas and travel authorisations. This thesis examines the privacy concerns raised by the
establishment and operation of EU immigration databases. Rather than viewing
information processing through the lens of EU data protection law, it is argued that the
right to private life, as enshrined in Articles 7 EUCFR and 8 ECHR, provides more
holistic protection to individuals. In this context, this thesis provides a typology of
standards for compliance with privacy on the basis of the jurisprudence of the ECtHR
and CJEU. Having set the theoretical foundations of the study, the legal framework of
the aforementioned information systems is analysed and evaluated in light of the right to
private life. It is submitted that the collection and further processing of everyday
personal information and biometric data -which are sensitive in nature- constitutes a
disproportionate form of surveillance of movement, which allows constructing profiles
of third-country nationals, recreating their travel routes and eventually deterring and
obstructing their mobility. Law enforcement access to these systems constitutes a
separate limitation to privacy, which, albeit not taking place on a routine basis, poses
grave proportionality concerns. | en_US |
