The Hungarian Parliament has passed on 13 December 2010 the Bill on the Enhanced Protection of National Records that is currently before promulgation by the President of the Republic. Once promulgated, the new bill will enter into force on 1 January 2011.
The new bill has introduced the term “national data record” which refers to the entirety of data, including data of public interest, personal data and data public on grounds of public interest processed by organs performing public functions in Hungary. The new bill generally permits the limitation of the person of data processors who may be assigned to process national data records and it states that assigned data processing of national data records may be entirely prohibited by the act of legislation. Such national legislation may also lay down that data processing and assigned data processing of national data records may be performed only by national administrative organ(s) or by state owned enterprise(s) determined by the Government in a separate ordinance. Notably, the bill also limits the territorial scope of assigned data processing, since it permits the processing of national data records/archives only within Hungarian borders, which means in practice that the assigned processing of national data records cannot be performed in the territory other (foreign or even European) countries. The bill lays down the security measures to be applied in connection with processing, a data breach notification requirement of processors in relation to the controller public organs, finally, through the amendment of the Criminal Code the new bill sanctions with criminal charges any conduct which limits access of the data controller public organ to the national records as well as any other activity restricting or inhibiting the processing of such records.
Notably, the Bill on the Enhanced Protection of National Records also modified several Hungarian legislative acts and introduced with respect to the major Hungarian data records of national authorities, national labor and criminal data files as “national data records” that such records must be processed by national administrative organ(s) or by state owned enterprise(s) as assigned data processors. The list of national data records include the Social and Employment Database processed by the Public Employment Service, Social Records processed by the National Treasury, the Name and Address Records of Citizens processed by the Central Office for Administrative and Electronic Public Services, Social Security Records, the Register of Immovables, Criminal Records, Records on Administrative Offences, Vehicle Records, Tax Records, as well as the Register of Companies. In case of existing records and files – provided that data processing or the person of the assigned data processor does not comply with the provisions of the new bill – changes must be implemented by the controller of the record until 31 December 2011 at the latest.
