A new Cyprus law was enacted in March 2019 (Law 44 (I) of 2019), with title “Law on the protection of natural persons regarding the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offenses or execution of criminal penalties and for the free movement of such data”.
The law is an implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/680 into national law and its provisions apply in relation to:
- the processing of personal data by the Cyprus Police, the Customs Department, the Unit for Combating Money Laundering (MOKAS) and the Tax Department for the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offenses in the context of activities for the protection of public order and security for the purpose of freezing or confiscating illegal proceeds; or other related assets and for the execution of criminal penalties,
- 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.
The Provisions of the new law do not apply to the activities of the Cyprus Information Service (CIS) and the Cyprus Police when dealing with cases related to the protection of national security.