Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 2 March 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Högsta domstolen — Sweden) — Norra Stockholm Bygg AB v Per Nycander AB

(Case C-268/21, (1) Norra Stockholm Bygg)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of personal data - Regulation (EU) 2016/679 - Article 6(3) and (4) - Lawfulness of processing - Production of a document containing personal data in civil court proceedings - Article 23(1)(f) and (j) - Protection of judicial independence and judicial proceedings - Enforcement of civil law claims - Requirements to be complied with - Having regard to the interests of the data subjects - Balancing of the opposing interests involved - Article 5 - Minimisation of personal data - Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Article 7 - Right to respect for private life - Article 8 - Right to protection of personal data - Article 47 - Right to effective judicial protection - Principle of proportionality)

(2023/C 155/10)

Language of the case: Swedish

Referring court

Högsta domstolen

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Norra Stockholm Bygg AB

Defendant: Per Nycander AB

Other party: Entral AB

Operative part of the judgment

1.

Article 6(3) and (4) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), must be interpreted as meaning that that provision applies, in the context of civil court proceedings, to the production as evidence of a staff register containing personal data of third parties collected principally for the purposes of tax inspection.

2.

Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation 2016/679 must be interpreted as meaning that when assessing whether the production of a document containing personal data must be ordered, the national court is required to have regard to the interests of the data subjects concerned and to balance them according to the circumstances of each case, the type of proceeding at issue and duly taking into account the requirements arising from the principle of proportionality as well as, in particular, those resulting from the principle of data minimisation referred to in Article 5(1)(c) of that regulation.

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(1)  OJ C 252, 28.6.2021.