About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


17 Baltic J.L. & Pol. 1 (2024)

handle is hein.journals/bjlp17 and id is 1 raw text is: scien do BALTIC JOURNAL OF LAW & POLITICS A Journal of Vytautas Magnus University VOLUME 17, NUMBER 1 (2024) ISSN 2029-0454 Cit.: Baltic Journal of Law & Politics 17:1 (2024): 1-20 https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/bjlp/ bjlp-overview.xml DOI: 10.2478/bjlp-2024-0001 PROTECTION OF (PERSONAL) DATA IN ARMED CONFLICTS Bence Kis Kelemen PhD, senior lecturer University of Pecs, Hungary Contact information: Phone: +36 70 501 599 23237 E-mail: kis.kelemen.bence@ajk.pte.hu Received: September 6, 2023; reviews 2; accepted: January 10, 2024. ABSTRACT Despite the increased attention that was given to data protection laws in national jurisdictions - especially after the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation by the European Union - international law still does not offer a higher standard of protection to the personal data of civilians in times of armed conflict, where the deletion or manipulation of personal data of the civilian population can have significant harmful effects. This article explains that at the time of the adoption of the relevant international treaties and the development of customary international law, international humanitarian law (IHL) did not protect personal data stored electronically, and even though commentators in contemporary times tend to accept the object status of electronic data, State practice still remains inconclusive, largely excluding computerized personal data from the protective regime of IHL. The article argues further that a stricter protection of personal data regulation could potentially lead to harmful effects for protected persons, such as civilians, there- fore it is undesirable. The protective nature of IHL must prevail over the data protection interests. KEYWORDS Personal data, object, IHL, cyberspace, civilian, cyber operation.