In an interview with the Dutch Katholiek Nieuwsblad (Wednesday) the Professor of Religion, Law and Society at the University of Nijmegen referred to decisions by supervisory authorities and courts in other EU member states, which, unlike the Belgian data protection authority, have always allowed churches to keep baptismal register entries permanently, even against the will of the baptised.
"Taking into account religious freedom and a reasonable interpretation of EU law, I think the Court should conclude that there is no right to be removed from the baptismal register upon request," the legal scholar stated.
Van Bijsterveld sees the upcoming ECJ ruling as a landmark decision not only for Belgium, but for all religious communities in the EU: "In this case, the Belgian court has asked the Court of Justice how this EU law should be interpreted in light of the Ghent question. With this answer in hand, the Belgian court then moves on to deciding the specific case," says the legal scholar.
"The ECJ's answers therefore have an impact on all member states."
This is also the intention of such proceedings before the ECJ: "a uniform interpretation of EU law for all member states", the professor continued.
Dispute in the diocese of Ghent comes before the ECJ
The background to the case is a dispute between a man in the Belgian diocese of Ghent who had been baptised but had left the church over data protection deletion claims.
The complainant had demanded that his parish not only add a note to his baptismal entry stating that he had left the church, but also remove it completely.
The diocese of Ghent and the parishes concerned rejected this, referring to the fact that baptism cannot be lost and the theological need to document baptism securely and permanently.
The Belgian data protection supervisory authority had upheld the complaint of the persons concerned and ordered the church to delete the data.
The diocese of Ghent appealed against this decision to the competent administrative court, the Brussels Market Court.
In December, the court referred the question of whether an exception to the right to erasure for baptismal records is compatible with EU data protection law to the European Court of Justice, to the European Court of Justice for clarification.
Documentation on abuse caused resignation figures to rise
The diocese of Ghent reacted cautiously to an enquiry from katholisch.de in December. They had taken note of the decision and read it carefully.
"The crucial point is that the decision confirms that different views on the fundamental issues are possible," said the diocese spokesperson.
In Belgium, the number of people leaving the church rose following the broadcast of a TV documentary about abuse in the church in autumn 2023.
In the course of the nationwide discussion, the how the church deals with people leaving the church.
In particular, the refusal to delete baptismal records when people leave the church was met with massive criticism.
The decision by the Belgian data protection authority is the first in which a right to erasure has been confirmed.
In September 2023, the Irish data protection authority published a comprehensive decision in which it came to the opposite conclusion and rejected a complaint against the Archdiocese of Dublin.
Courts in France and Slovenia have also already rejected requests for the erasure of baptismal records.