Citizens Will Get Acquainted with Their Data Stored in State Databases

The «Fact» newspaper reports that the Ministry of Justice has submitted a draft for public discussion, proposing amendments to the government’s decision No. 1385-N dated November 12, 2015. The aim of this legal act is to provide a regulation that ensures citizens can access their personal data stored in state databases through the e-citizen portal, as well as obtain information about the use of this data via the state information system.

The bodies involved in the development of the draft include the Ministry of Justice, the Personal Data Protection Agency of the Ministry of Justice, and the “Office for the Implementation of Electronic Governance Infrastructures” LLC.

What does this entail? According to the actions outlined under indicator 13 of the EU budget support agreement for “Support to Public Administration Reforms in Armenia: Improving Service Delivery through More Efficient and Accountable Public Administration,” it is planned to ensure access to all digitized data stored in electronic governance databases related to the government's cooperation platform, including data from the electronic health system via the e-citizen portal.

Consequently, regulations and IT solutions will also be developed, allowing individuals to monitor the use of their digitized personal data by public management bodies through the e-citizen portal. This indicator is generally aimed at ensuring individuals’ right to access information regarding their personal data.

The justification for the draft recalls that, according to the third part of Article 34 of the Constitution, “Everyone has the right to access information held about them by state and local self-government bodies.” This constitutional right to access information regarding the processing of personal data by individuals has been enshrined in the “Law on Personal Data Protection,” where Article 15 outlines the data subject's right to access information about their personal data, while Article 20 specifies the procedure for exercising this right, stating that the data processor must provide information to the data subject within five days after receiving a written request in accordance with Article 15.

At the same time, the justification for the draft notes that although the right to know about personal data and the processing of personal data is already guaranteed, regulations for obtaining information about personal data transferred through electronic information systems have not yet been established. In other words, while the right to know about personal data and its processing is recognized, there is no procedure laid out for accessing data stored in state databases (in a unified electronic information system) and processed through the e-citizen portal.

This draft aims to create a legal basis allowing individuals to access their personal data stored in state databases through IT solutions resulting from the e-citizen portal, as well as receive information about its usage through the state information system.

Accordingly, this draft also seeks to meet the obligations undertaken under the EU budget support agreement for “Support to Public Administration Reforms in Armenia: Improving Service Delivery through More Efficient and Accountable Public Administration” with the 13th indicator.

It is noted that the draft defines the description of the section that grants access to personal data stored in state databases via the e-citizen portal and the forms for obtaining such information. It is expected that as a result of the adoption of the draft, citizens will have the opportunity to access their personal data stored in state databases and receive information regarding its use via the state information system through the e-citizen portal,” the newspaper writes.