4.5.2016
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 119/29
processing of personal data under the provisions of Union and Member State law, and in particular does not alter
the obligations and rights set out in this Regulation. In particular, that Directive should not apply to documents
to which access is excluded or restricted by virtue of the access regimes on the grounds of protection of personal
data, and parts of documents accessible by virtue of those regimes which contain personal data the re-use of
which has been provided for by law as being incompatible with the law concerning the protection of natural
persons with regard to the processing of personal data.
(155) Member State law or collective agreements, including ‘works agreements’, may provide for specific rules on the
processing of employees' personal data in the employment context, in particular for the conditions under which
personal data in the employment context may be processed on the basis of the consent of the employee, the
purposes of the recruitment, the performance of the contract of employment, including discharge of obligations
laid down by law or by collective agreements, management, planning and organisation of work, equality and
diversity in the workplace, health and safety at work, and for the purposes of the exercise and enjoyment, on an
individual or collective basis, of rights and benefits related to employment, and for the purpose of the
termination of the employment relationship.
(156) The processing of personal data for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research
purposes or statistical purposes should be subject to appropriate safeguards for the rights and freedoms of the
data subject pursuant to this Regulation. Those safeguards should ensure that technical and organisational
measures are in place in order to ensure, in particular, the principle of data minimisation. The further processing
of personal data for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or
statistical purposes is to be carried out when the controller has assessed the feasibility to fulfil those purposes by
processing data which do not permit or no longer permit the identification of data subjects, provided that
appropriate safeguards exist (such as, for instance, pseudonymisation of the data). Member States should provide
for appropriate safeguards for the processing of personal data for archiving purposes in the public interest,
scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes. Member States should be authorised to provide,
under specific conditions and subject to appropriate safeguards for data subjects, specifications and derogations
with regard to the information requirements and rights to rectification, to erasure, to be forgotten, to restriction
of processing, to data portability, and to object when processing personal data for archiving purposes in the
public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes. The conditions and safeguards in
question may entail specific procedures for data subjects to exercise those rights if this is appropriate in the light
of the purposes sought by the specific processing along with technical and organisational measures aimed at
minimising the processing of personal data in pursuance of the proportionality and necessity principles. The
processing of personal data for scientific purposes should also comply with other relevant legislation such as on
clinical trials.
(157) By coupling information from registries, researchers can obtain new knowledge of great value with regard to
widespread medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and depression. On the basis of registries,
research results can be enhanced, as they draw on a larger population. Within social science, research on the
basis of registries enables researchers to obtain essential knowledge about the long-term correlation of a number
of social conditions such as unemployment and education with other life conditions. Research results obtained
through registries provide solid, high-quality knowledge which can provide the basis for the formulation and
implementation of knowledge-based policy, improve the quality of life for a number of people and improve the
efficiency of social services. In order to facilitate scientific research, personal data can be processed for scientific
research purposes, subject to appropriate conditions and safeguards set out in Union or Member State law.
(158) Where personal data are processed for archiving purposes, this Regulation should also apply to that processing,
bearing in mind that this Regulation should not apply to deceased persons. Public authorities or public or private
bodies that hold records of public interest should be services which, pursuant to Union or Member State law,
have a legal obligation to acquire, preserve, appraise, arrange, describe, communicate, promote, disseminate and
provide access to records of enduring value for general public interest. Member States should also be authorised
to provide for the further processing of personal data for archiving purposes, for example with a view to
providing specific information related to the political behaviour under former totalitarian state regimes, genocide,
crimes against humanity, in particular the Holocaust, or war crimes.