View source for Article 90 GDPR

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 1: General provisions</div>
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<small>
[[Article 1 GDPR|Article 1: Subject-matter and objectives]]<br />
[[Article 2 GDPR|Article 2: Material scope]]<br />
[[Article 3 GDPR|Article 3: Territorial scope]]<br />
[[Article 4 GDPR|Article 4: Definitions]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 2: Principles</div>
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<small>
[[Article 5 GDPR|Article 5: Principles relating to processing of personal data]]<br />
[[Article 6 GDPR|Article 6: Lawfulness of processing]]<br />
[[Article 7 GDPR|Article 7: Conditions for consent]]<br />
[[Article 8 GDPR|Article 8: Conditions applicable to child’s consent in relation to information society services]]<br />
[[Article 9 GDPR|Article 9: Processing of special categories of personal data]]<br />
[[Article 10 GDPR|Article 10: Processing of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences]]<br />
[[Article 11 GDPR|Article 11: Processing which does not require identification]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 3: Rights of the data subject</div>
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<small>
[[Article 12 GDPR|Article 12: Transparent information, communication and modalities for the exercise of the rights of the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 13 GDPR|Article 13: Information to be provided where personal data are collected from the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 14 GDPR|Article 14: Information to be provided where personal data have not been obtained from the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 15 GDPR|Article 15: Right of access by the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 16 GDPR|Article 16: Right to rectification]]<br />
[[Article 17 GDPR|Article 17: Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’)]]<br />
[[Article 18 GDPR|Article 18: Right to restriction of processing]]<br />
[[Article 19 GDPR|Article 19: Notification obligation regarding rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing]]<br />
[[Article 20 GDPR|Article 20: Right to data portability]]<br />
[[Article 21 GDPR|Article 21: Right to object]]<br />
[[Article 22 GDPR|Article 22: Automated individual decision-making, including profiling]]<br />
[[Article 23 GDPR|Article 23: Restrictions]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 4: Controller and processor</div>
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<small>
[[Article 24 GDPR|Article 24: Responsibility of the controller]]<br />
[[Article 25 GDPR|Article 25: Data protection by design and by default]]<br />
[[Article 26 GDPR|Article 26: Joint controllers]]<br />
[[Article 27 GDPR|Article 27: Representatives of controllers or processors not established in the Union]]<br />
[[Article 28 GDPR|Article 28: Processor]]<br />
[[Article 29 GDPR|Article 29: Processing under the authority of the controller or processor]]<br />
[[Article 30 GDPR|Article 30: Records of processing activities]]<br />
[[Article 31 GDPR|Article 31: Cooperation with the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 32 GDPR|Article 32: Security of processing]]<br />
[[Article 33 GDPR|Article 33: Notification of a personal data breach to the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 34 GDPR|Article 34: Communication of a personal data breach to the data subject]]<br />
[[Article 35 GDPR|Article 35: Data protection impact assessment]]<br />
[[Article 36 GDPR|Article 36: Prior consultation]]<br />
[[Article 37 GDPR|Article 37: Designation of the data protection officer]]<br />
[[Article 38 GDPR|Article 38: Position of the data protection officer]]<br />
[[Article 39 GDPR|Article 39: Tasks of the data protection officer]]<br />
[[Article 40 GDPR|Article 40: Codes of conduct]]<br />
[[Article 41 GDPR|Article 41: Monitoring of approved codes of conduct]]<br />
[[Article 42 GDPR|Article 42: Certification]]<br />
[[Article 43 GDPR|Article 43: Certification bodies]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" overflow:auto;" style="border-width: 0px">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 5: Transfers of personal data</div>
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<small>
[[Article 44 GDPR|Article 44: General principle for transfers]]<br />
[[Article 45 GDPR|Article 45: Transfers on the basis of an adequacy decision]]<br />
[[Article 46 GDPR|Article 46: Transfers subject to appropriate safeguards]]<br />
[[Article 47 GDPR|Article 47: Binding corporate rules]]<br />
[[Article 48 GDPR|Article 48: Transfers or disclosures not authorised by Union law]]<br />
[[Article 49 GDPR|Article 49: Derogations for specific situations]]<br />
[[Article 50 GDPR|Article 50: International cooperation for the protection of personal data]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 6: Supervisory authorities</div>
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<small>
[[Article 51 GDPR|Article 51: Supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 52 GDPR|Article 52: Independence]]<br />
[[Article 53 GDPR|Article 53: General conditions for the members of the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 54 GDPR|Article 54: Rules on the establishment of the supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 55 GDPR|Article 55: Competence]]<br />
[[Article 56 GDPR|Article 56: Competence of the lead supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 57 GDPR|Article 57: Tasks]]<br />
[[Article 58 GDPR|Article 58: Powers]]<br />
[[Article 59 GDPR|Article 59: Activity reports]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 7: Cooperation and consistency</div>
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<small>
[[Article 60 GDPR|Article 60: Cooperation between the lead supervisory authority and the other supervisory authorities concerned]]<br />
[[Article 61 GDPR|Article 61: Mutual assistance]]<br />
[[Article 62 GDPR|Article 62: Joint operations of supervisory authorities]]<br />
[[Article 63 GDPR|Article 63: Consistency mechanism]]<br />
[[Article 64 GDPR|Article 64: Opinion of the Board]]<br />
[[Article 65 GDPR|Article 65: Dispute resolution by the Board]]<br />
[[Article 66 GDPR|Article 66: Urgency procedure]]<br />
[[Article 67 GDPR|Article 67: Exchange of information]]<br />
[[Article 68 GDPR|Article 68: European Data Protection Board]]<br />
[[Article 69 GDPR|Article 69: Independence]]<br />
[[Article 70 GDPR|Article 70: Tasks of the Board]]<br />
[[Article 71 GDPR|Article 71: Reports]]<br />
[[Article 72 GDPR|Article 72: Procedure]]<br />
[[Article 73 GDPR|Article 73: Chair]]<br />
[[Article 74 GDPR|Article 74: Tasks of the Chair]]<br />
[[Article 75 GDPR|Article 75: Secretariat]]<br />
[[Article 76 GDPR|Article 76: Confidentiality]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 8: Remedies, liability and penalties</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 77 GDPR|Article 77: Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 78 GDPR|Article 78: Right to an effective judicial remedy against a supervisory authority]]<br />
[[Article 79 GDPR|Article 79: Right to an effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor]]<br />
[[Article 80 GDPR|Article 80: Representation of data subjects]]<br />
[[Article 81 GDPR|Article 81: Suspension of proceedings]]<br />
[[Article 82 GDPR|Article 82: Right to compensation and liability]]<br />
[[Article 83 GDPR|Article 83: General conditions for imposing administrative fines]]<br />
[[Article 84 GDPR|Article 84: Penalties]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 9: Specific processing situations</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 85 GDPR|Article 85: Processing and freedom of expression and information]]<br />
[[Article 86 GDPR|Article 86: Processing and public access to official documents]]<br />
[[Article 87 GDPR|Article 87: Processing of the national identification number]]<br />
[[Article 88 GDPR|Article 88: Processing in the context of employment]]<br />
[[Article 89 GDPR|Article 89: Safeguards and derogations relating to processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes]]<br />
[[Article 90 GDPR|Article 90: Obligations of secrecy]]<br />
[[Article 91 GDPR|Article 91: Existing data protection rules of churches and religious associations]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 10: Delegated and implementing acts</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
<small>
[[Article 92 GDPR|Article 92: Exercise of the delegation]]<br />
[[Article 93 GDPR|Article 93: Committee procedure]]<br />
</small>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Chapter 11: Final provisions</div>
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<small>
[[Article 94 GDPR|Article 94: Repeal of Directive 95: /46: /EC]]<br />
[[Article 95 GDPR|Article 95: Relationship with Directive 20: 02: /58: /EC]]<br />
[[Article 96 GDPR|Article 96: Relationship with previously concluded Agreements]]<br />
[[Article 97 GDPR|Article 97: Commission reports]]<br />
[[Article 98 GDPR|Article 98: Review of other Union legal acts on data protection]]<br />
[[Article 99 GDPR|Article 99: Entry into force and application]]<br />
</small>
</div>
</div>
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== Legal Text ==
<br /><center>'''Article 90 - Obligations of secrecy'''</center>

<span id="1">1.   Member States may adopt specific rules to set out the powers of the supervisory authorities laid down in points (e) and (f) of Article 58(1) in relation to controllers or processors that are subject, under Union or Member State law or rules established by national competent bodies, to an obligation of professional secrecy or other equivalent obligations of secrecy where this is necessary and proportionate to reconcile the right of the protection of personal data with the obligation of secrecy. Those rules shall apply only with regard to personal data which the controller or processor has received as a result of or has obtained in an activity covered by that obligation of secrecy.</span>

<span id="2">2.   Each Member State shall notify to the Commission the rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1, by 25 May 2018 and, without delay, any subsequent amendment affecting them.</span>

== Relevant Recitals==
{{Recital/53 GDPR}} {{Recital/75 GDPR}}

== Commentary ==

While privacy and data protection are closely related to the right to informational self-determination, i.e. the right for an individual to exercise control over the flow of information concerning them, professional secrecy is a concept that protects the community's interest in being able to trust and rely professionals in whom secrets are confided in the performance of their duties.  

Professional secrecy as a moral principle or rule can already be traced back to the Hippocratic Oath, which was drafted circa AD 275. According to this oath, physicians must refrain from divulging information on their patients and should consider such information as "''holy secrets''".<ref>Hippocrates of Cos (1923). "The Oath". Loeb Classical Library. 147: 298–299. doi:10.4159/DLCL.hippocrates_cos-oath.1923.</ref> Today, professional secrecy is still considered as an essential part of the organisation of modern life, as it guarantees the confidentiality of the communications between a person and a professional to whom sensitive information are being disclosed, such as a doctor, a lawyer or an accountant.<ref>Riccio, Scorza, Belisario, GDPR e normativa privacy – Commentario, Article 90 GDPR, p. 662 (Wolters Kluwer 2018).</ref>

Because information subject to professional secrecy may contain personal data, the GDPR could also apply to it. This means, ''inter alia'', that DPAs could request from a professional to disclose confidential information in the course of an investigation, in accordance with [[Article 58 GDPR|Article 58(1) GDPR]]. Article 90 GDPR was drafted with a view to regulate potential conflicts between the application of the GDPR on the one hand, and obligations of professional secrecy on the other. More specifically, this provision mandates Member States with the task of regulating certain DPAs investigative powers when exercised against a controller or processor bound by professional secrecy.
=== (1) Data Protection and Professional Secrecy ===
Under Article 90 “''Member States may adopt specific rules to set out the powers of the supervisory authorities laid down in points (e) and (f) of Article 58(1) in relation to controllers or processors that are subject […] to an obligation of professional secrecy or other equivalent obligation''”. 

==== Professional Secrecy or Other Equivalent Obligation ====
National regulation may only cover situations in which the controller or processor is subject to professional secrecy or an equivalent obligation of confidentiality under Union Law or the Member State Law, or under an obligation issued by the competent national authorities. Examples of such professional secrecy obligations are not mentioned in the GDPR. However, they presumably include the profession of attorney, doctor, notary, tax advisor and auditor. As such, professional secrecy obligations must not have been recognised by law to fall within the scope of Article 90 GDPR; the national specifications can also relate to confidentiality obligations which have been issued by “''national bodies''”.<ref>''Piltz'' in Gola DS-GVO, Article 90 GDPR, margin numbers 6-7 (C.H. Beck 2018, 2<sup>nd</sup> edition).</ref> Typical examples of such national bodies include public institutions controlling the financial sector, bar associations or medical orders. In line with Article 90 GDPR, such national bodies may also adopt rules on professional secrecy which are binding on their members and may limit the investigative powers of DPAs.<ref>''Wiese Svanberg,'' in Kuner et al., The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Article 90 GDPR, p. 1255 and ss. (Oxford University Press 2020).</ref>

==== Derogation to DPAs' General Powers ====
Article 90(1) GDPR provides that when a controller or a processor is subject to professional secrecy, Member States may adopt national measures limiting specific investigative powers of the competent DPA. <ref>''Piltz'' in Gola DS-GVO, Article 90 GDPR, margin numbers 15 (C.H. Beck 2018, 2<sup>nd</sup> edition).</ref> The powers in question are provided for in Article 58(e) and (f) GDPR, under which the DPA can “''obtain, from the controller and the processor, access to all personal data and to all information necessary for the performance of its tasks''” as well as “''access to any premises of the controller and the processor, including to any data processing equipment and means, in accordance with Union or Member State procedural law''”.<ref>This means, ''inter alia'', that specific rules adopted by Member States under Article 90 cannot exclude other information from the enforcement competences of the supervisory authority provided under points (e) and (f) of Article 58(1). ''Wiese Svanberg,'' in Kuner et al., The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Article 90 GDPR, p. 1255 and ss. (Oxford University Press 2020).</ref> It seems clear that the two powers in question can create conflicts where the controller is subject to a professional or other secrecy obligation. In such circumstances, the EU legislator allows Member States to introduce specific rules for the exercise of the investigative powers. For example, an attorney could resist the handing over of information subject to professional secrecy upon request of a DPA, if national law allows for such a derogation. The only condition is that the national measures adopted by the Member State are both “''necessary and proportionate to reconcile the right of the protection of personal data with the obligation of secrecy''”. In the absence of precise indications in the text of the law, European case-law on necessity and proportionality may provide guidance on how to balance these conflicting interests.<ref>CJEU, Commission v Germany, C-518/07, margin number 23 (available [https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf;jsessionid=007838634D1C615E440398C84951803B?text=&docid=79752&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=4374391 here]); CJEU, Commission v. Austria, C-614/10, margin number 37 (available [https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=128563&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=4374519 here]); and CJEU, Commission v Hungary, C-288/12, margin number 48 (available [https://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=150641&pageIndex=0&doclang=EN&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=4374635 here]).</ref>

=== (2) Notification of national implementation to the Commission ===
Under Article 90(2) GDPR, each Member State has the obligation to notify to the Commission the rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1, by the 25<sup>th</sup> May 2018 and, without delay, any subsequent amendment affecting them. Such notifications were made by most Member States and are accessible on the website of the Commission.<ref>Available [https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-protection-eu/eu-countries-gdpr-specific-notifications_en here].</ref>

== Decisions ==
→ You can find all related decisions in [[:Category:Article 90 GDPR]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Article 90 GDPR]] [[Category:GDPR Articles]]