Court of Justice of the European Union — Case C-371/24, Comdribus: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 19

Decided by

Court of Justice of the European Union

Parties

Ministère public v. HW

Decision date

March 19, 2026

Remedy

The Court of Justice of the European Union delivered a preliminary ruling interpreting Directive 2016/680 regarding the strict necessity, reasoning requirements, and penalties associated with biometric data collection.

Appeal

Appeal status not stated

Key holdings

1. European Union law precludes national rules allowing systematic collection of biometric data unless specific purposes are defined and case-by-case necessity is evaluated.

   “Article 10 of Directive 2016/680, read in conjunction with Article 4(1)(a) to (c) and Article 8 of that directive, must be interpreted as precluding national legislation” — paragraph 54

2. Authorities must provide a sufficient statement of reasons in each individual case explaining why biometric data collection is strictly necessary.

   “precluding national legislation which does not lay down an obligation on the part of the competent authority to provide a sufficient statement of reasons, in each individual case” — paragraph 75

3. National law may impose criminal penalties for refusing biometric data collection even if the individual is acquitted of the main offence, provided the collection was strictly necessary and penalties are proportionate.

   “allows a person to be prosecuted for and convicted of a specific criminal offence penalising that person’s refusal to allow the collection of his or her biometric data” — paragraph 91

In plain English

In May 2020, climate activists occupied a street in Paris, leading law enforcement officers to detain several individuals, including an individual identified as HW. HW provided his identity during police custody but refused to give fingerprints, photographs, or phone unlocking codes. Although acquitted on 8 September 2021 of organizing an unregistered demonstration and refusing to share phone decryption codes, the Criminal Court in Paris convicted HW for refusing biometric data collection and ordered a fine of EUR 300. HW appealed to the Court of Appeal in Paris, which referred questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding Directive 2016/680. The European court ruled that national law cannot allow the systematic gathering of biometric data, such as fingerprints and photographs, from criminal suspects unless the law clearly defines specific purposes and requires police to determine that collection is strictly necessary in each case. Furthermore, police must provide a sufficient statement of reasons in each instance to allow judicial review. The court also clarified that national law may penalize someone for refusing biometric collection even if they are not convicted of the underlying offence, provided the collection was strictly necessary and the penalty remains proportionate.