School of Law and Criminology

Wednesday, December 4, 2024 - 12:00 to 13:00
SE130, North Campus

This presentation examines the place of EU law in the actions of Schrems and his ‘linked’ NGO, None of your Business, ‘noyb,’ in the context of its predominantly transatlantic nature. Existing literature pays insufficient attention to the narrow focus on Schrems on EU-US data transfers and the ways in which his use of EU law is mostly outside of EU court rooms and also outside of EU lobbying channels. The presentation thus focuses upon the place of EU law in the work of Schrems- often take outside of Court rooms and official lobbying channels when challenging EU data transfers- and beyond. The paper draws attention to the links between lobbying and litigation as to EU data transfers and beyond mirrored in the work of noyb- where little caselaw exists per se- and where broader aims and means are at stake necessitating a broader reach. Civil society similar to Big Tech use a variety of methods to engage with EU law, but not limited to a court-room per se, amply demonstrated in the work of Schrems and noyb. The article also highlights how much scholarship focuses upon the work of Schrems and noyb as examples of the ‘transnational’ enforcement of EU law. It  argues that existing literature easily overlooks the exclusively transatlantic focus of Schrems and the relatively modest number of cases taken by him, less again by noyb before the CJEU, concentrated elsewhere. The focus upon the ‘locus’ adds to research highlighting the procedural limitations of the EU law system. It supports a broader framing of strategic litigation in understanding data transfers and the broader ‘Brussels effects’ of the work of Schrems.