The CJEU judgement in the Deldits case points to the need to amend national legislation

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office, Mirosław Wróblewski, sent a letter to the Minister of Family, Labor, and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, pointing out the need to amend national regulations. The reason for this is the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) of March 13, 2025, in case C-247/23 Deldits, concerning the right to rectification of personal data related to gender identity.

The Court ruled that national law cannot restrict the right to rectification of data under the GDPR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The change of data cannot be made conditional on a court procedure of gender recognition or on the presentation of evidence of a medical surgery. Member States may only request evidence that is truly necessary to confirm the inaccuracy of the data.

Current regulations in Poland – including the 2016 Regulation on employment certificates – do not provide for the possibility of change of personal data in connection with gender recognition. This may lead to discrimination against transgender people who are unable to present documents confirming their professional experience that are consistent with their current identity.

The President of the Personal Data Protection Office also drew attention to the situation of refugees in Poland, which is analogous to the Hungarian case being heard by the CJEU, where refugees, like citizens, must use civil proceedings to change their gender designation. In Polish law, as in Hungary, there is no separate procedure in this regard.

In the opinion of the President of the Personal Data Protection Office, the lack of clear rules regarding the correction of data in employment certificates violates the GDPR and may expose transgender people to unequal treatment. Therefore, he calls for urgent legislative work to bring the regulations into line with EU law and guarantee the protection of personal data for all citizens.

The full text of the address by the President of the Personal Data Protection Office is available below (in Polish).

DPNT.413.24.2025

Attachments: Address of the President of the Personal Data Protection Office (in Polish)