DECISION
In the administrative law case
Mr. Rasmus Kahlen, Attorney at Law,
Nikolaistraße 18, 37073 Göttingen,
Plaintiff
Procedural Representative:
Attorney Adam,
Lange Geismarstraße 55, 37073 Göttingen, – 0094/16sva –
against
The Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport – Department 5 –, represented by the President,
Büttnerstraße 28, 30165 Hannover, – 51.11-18533-Kahlen –
Defendant,
Subject of the dispute: Determination of the illegality of the collection and storage of personal data
The Administrative Court of Hanover – 10th Chamber – decided on July 13, 2016, through the rapporteur:
The proceedings are discontinued.
The defendant shall bear the costs of the proceedings.
The value in dispute is set at EUR 5,000.00.
REASONS
Since the parties have unanimously declared the main legal dispute settled, the proceedings are to be discontinued in accordance with Section 92 Paragraph 3 of the Administrative Court Procedure Act (VwGO); at the same time, the court decides on the costs in accordance with Section 161 Paragraph 2 of the Administrative Court Procedure Act (VwGO), taking into account the previous state of the facts and the legal arguments, at its equitable discretion.
It is equitable to order the defendant to bear the costs. While he immediately acknowledged the unlawfulness of the storage of the personal data in principle, even though the formal acknowledgment came only later, the defendant at least defended himself against the claim by arguing that it was inadmissible. He only abandoned this legal position later in the proceedings after being prompted by the reporting judge, thereby placing himself in the position of the losing party. Furthermore, the defendant's conduct gave rise to the lawsuit because, although he informed the plaintiff of the deletion of his personal data, he did not provide the reason for the deletion. It therefore remained unclear to the plaintiff whether the defendant had lawfully collected his personal data but no longer considered it necessary, or whether he himself assumed the data storage was unlawful.
The determination of the value in dispute is based on Section 63 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 of the Court Costs Act (GKG). The amount of the determined value in dispute follows from Section 52 Paragraph 2 of the Court Costs Act (GKG).
The following is information on legal remedies.
