Germany: Submitted Berlin Court of Appeal questions to European Court of Justice regarding GDPR interpretation

On 21 December 2021, the Berlin Court of Appeal submitted two questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the interpretation of Article 83 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on the general conditions for imposing administrative fines. The questions are on whether Article 83 would be incorporating into national laws ‘the functional concept of an undertaking and the principle of an economic entity’ hence broadening the interpretation of a legal entity under Germany national law, and if so, whether a fine can be imposed if the violation or breach was committed through an employee. This concerns a case under the Berlin Court of Appeal where a fine of EUR 14.5 million imposed on German real estate company Deutsche Wohnen by the Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and the Freedom of Information under the GDPR was overturned by the District Court of Berlin for failing to meet requirements under German national law.