On 25 January 2022, Ambassador Arman KHACHATRYAN, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the Council of Europe, in the office of the Deputy Secretary General and in his presence, deposited the instrument of ratification of the Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (CETS No. 223), known as Convention 108+, bringing the number of ratifications to 16.

The Protocol aims to modernise and improve the Convention 108, the only binding international instrument with global relevance in this field. It addresses the new challenges to the protection of privacy resulting from the use of new information and communication technologies having emerged since the adoption of the Convention in 1980.

The Protocol strengthens the Convention’s mechanism to ensure its effective implementation by introducing innovations, such as:

• Mandatory application of the principle “privacy by design”
• Stronger accountability of data controllers
• The obligation to declare data breaches
• Greater transparency of data processing
• The establishment of a clear regime for transborder data flows
• Stronger requirements regarding the proportionality and data minimisation principles, and lawfulness of the processing
• Extension of the types of sensitive data, which will now include genetic and biometric data, trade union membership and ethnic origin
• New rights for the persons in an algorithmic decision-making context, particularly relevant in connection with the development of artificial intelligence
• Application of the data protection principles to all processing activities, including for national security reasons, with possible exceptions and restrictions subject to the conditions set by the Convention, and in any case with independent and effective review and supervision
• Reinforced powers and independence of the data protection authorities and enhancing legal basis for international cooperation.

The protocol constitutes a bridge between different regions of the world and different normative frameworks, including the new European Union’s legislation in the context of transborder data flows.

More information:

• Protocol amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (CETS No. 223)
• Council of Europe’s work in the field of data protection