Article 2 Scope

This chapter focuses on Article 2 of the EU Law Enforcement Directive (LED), which defines its scope of application. Article 2(1) LED delineates the teleological and personal conditions of application, by referring to the purposes defined under Article 1 and the notion of competent authorities, as further defined within Article 3(7) LED. Insofar as data processing by courts and judicial authorities is concerned, specific rules may be imposed on a national level, while the competence of the supervisory authorities should not cover the processing of personal data where courts are acting in their judicial capacity. Article 2(2) LED formulates the material scope of the LED, which applies to the processing of personal data wholly or partly by automated means, and to the processing other than by automated means of personal data which form part of a filing system or are intended to form part of a filing system. Meanwhile, Article 2(3) LED provides for two limitations to the application of the LED, namely when processing takes place in the course of an activity that falls outside the scope of Union law, or when processing is carried out by EU institutions, bodies, offices, and agencies. The chapter then considers certain legal gaps in the protection of personal data within the field of security.