Privacy & Information Security Law Blog

The 32nd International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners held in Jerusalem this October continued the trend from past conferences by enacting a resolution, this time with respect to the adoption of global privacy standards.  The Jerusalem Declaration calls for an intergovernmental conference in 2011 or 2012 to negotiate a binding international agreement guaranteeing respect for data protection and privacy, and facilitating cross-border coordination of enforcement efforts.  The basis for the binding international agreement would be the Madrid Resolution, which was adopted in November 2009.

The Jerusalem Declaration was sponsored by the French Data Protection Authority (the “CNIL”) and was seconded by nine other entities, including the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner, the Spanish Data Protection Agency and the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.  Despite the resolution, it seems highly unlikely the intergovernmental conference will take place within the proposed two-year timeframe.