Written by Haim Ravia and Dotan Hammer
The Israeli government approved the governmental resolution proposed by the Minister of Justice to have the Privacy Protection Authority “be independent in the exercise of the powers granted to the head of the Authority to fulfill its duties” and “be budgeted separately within the budget of the Ministry of Justice.” The government’s decision states that the Authority will act independently in exercising its statutory functions such as overseeing compliance with the Privacy Protection Law, investigating alleged violations of the statute’s provisions on the use and management of databases, increasing public awareness of privacy protection, handling public inquiries and complaints on privacy protection issues, and more.
The government’s decision was motivated by the European Union’s list of prerequisites for the continued recognition of Israel as an adequate jurisdiction whose data protection laws are substantially equivalent to those of the European Union. If Israel’s adequacy recognition continues, transfers of personal data from the Europe Union to Israel can be done relatively seamlessly.
The government’s decision also established the eligibility prerequisites for the position of the registrar of databases. Among other things, the appointed registrar is required to meet the conditions of eligibility for the office of a district judge, have no criminal record, and have no pending indictments on offenses whose gravity could impair the fulfillment of the registrar’s position. The registrar of databases appointed by the government will serve a term of six years, acting as both the head of the Privacy Protection Authority and the registrar of certification authorities according to the Israeli Electronic Signature Law.
Click here to read the full decision of the Israeli government (In Hebrew).
