In the Chamber judgment of 13 December 2022 in the case of Florindo de Almeida Vasconcelos Gramaxo v. Portugal (application no. 26968/16) the European Court of Human Rights held, by four votes to three, that there had been:
✔ no violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights;
✔ no violation of Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair hearing).
The case concerned the applicant’s dismissal on the basis of data obtained from a geolocation system fitted in the car which his employer had made available to him for the purposes of his work as a medical representative.
The Court observed at the outset that the applicant had been aware that the company had installed a GPS system in his vehicle with the aim of monitoring the distances travelled in the course of his professional activity and, as applicable, on private journeys.
It also noted that, by taking into account only the geolocation data relating to the distances travelled, the Guimarães Court of Appeal had reduced the extent of the intrusion into the applicant’s private life to what was strictly necessary to achieve the legitimate aim pursued, namely to monitor the company’s expenditure.
The Court considered that the Guimarães Court of Appeal had carried out a detailed balancing exercise between the applicant’s right to respect for his private life and his employer’s right to ensure the smooth running of the company, taking into account the legitimate aim pursued by the company, namely the right to monitor its expenditure.
Hence, the State had not overstepped its margin of appreciation in the present case. The Court held that the national authorities had not failed to comply with their positive obligation to protect the applicant’s right to respect for his private life.
A legal summary of this case will be available in the Court’s database HUDOC.
