Analiza odločitve Evropskega sodišča za človekove pravice v primeru Barbulescu proti Romuniji

VUKOVIČ, REBEKA (author), Franca, Valentina (mentor)

Osrednji del diplomskega dela predstavlja analiza primera Barbulescu proti Romuniji 61496/08 iz Evropskega sodišča za človekove pravice. Romunskega državljana Bogdana Mihaia Barbulescuja je delodajalec odpustil z delovnega mesta prodajnega inženirja, ker je ta med delovnim časom uporabljal službeno elektronsko pošto za dopisovanje v zasebne namene. Barbulescu se je po neuspešnih poskusih izpodbijanja odpovedi pogodbe o zaposlitvi na nacionalnih sodiščih pritožil na ESČP, z argumentom, da mu je bila z neutemeljenim nadzorom in vpogledom v vsebino dopisovanja s strani delodajalca, po 8. členu Evropske konvencije o človekovih pravicah kršena pravica do spoštovanja zasebnosti, doma in dopisovanja. Mali senat kršitve 8. člena EKČP ni ugotovil, ni pa dejansko presojal dopustnosti dejanj tako zaposlenega kot njegovega delodajalca. Mali senat je presojal le, če so romunska sodišča v postopkih storila vse, kar je v njihovih obveznostih, da bi ustrezno zaščitila tožnikove pravice v okviru disciplinskega postopka, katerega najstrožji ukrep je bil prenehanje delovnega razmerja. Premik se je zgodil pred Velikim senatom ESČP, ki je razsodil, da je od posameznika nemogoče popolnoma izključiti zasebno življenje, kljub temu da je na delovnem mestu, in s tem Barbulescuju priznal kršitev 8. člena EKČP. Ugotovili smo, da lahko delodajalec nadzoruje elektronsko pošto zaposlenega le, če ima za to utemeljen in zakonit razlog ter če o nadzoru zaposlene obvesti vnaprej, pri čemer lahko v vsebino zasebnih sporočil vpogleda le v izjemnih primerih, po navadi z odredbo sodišča. ESČP je s slednjim primerom postavilo državam članicam strožje kriterije pri tehtanju med interesom zaposlenega do pričakovanja zasebnosti na delovnem mestu ter delodajalčevim interesom preverjanja namembnosti službene opreme in preverjanja storilnosti zaposlenega. Doprinos diplomskega dela je predvsem oblikovati priporočila delodajalcem v zvezi z nadzorom nad službeno-komunikacijsko opremo, oziroma elektronsko pošto zaposlenih ter opozoriti na dejstvo, da je na delovnem mestu meja med službenim in zasebnim zelo tanka.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: Evropsko sodišče za človekove pravice, analiza sodne prakse, 8. člen EKČP, elektronska pošta, zasebnost na delovnem mestu, nadzor, analiza pravnih virov
• Work type: Bachelor thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.11 - Undergraduate Thesis
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: [R. Vukovič]
• Year: 2020
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-118124
• COBISS.SI-ID: 27247363
• Publication date in RUL: 21.08.2020

Secondary language

• Language: English

Abstract

The central part of the diploma thesis presents an analysis of the case 61496/08 Barbulescu v. Romania from the European Court of Human Rights. Romanian citizen Bogdan Mihai Barbulescu was fired from the post of sales engineer by his employer because he was using work electronic mail during business hours for personal purposes. After unsuccessful attempts to challenge the termination of employment in national courts, Barbulescu appealed to the ECtHR, arguing that his right to respect for private life, home and correspondence under the Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights has been violated by his employer with an unjustified control and access to the content of correspondence. The Small Chamber did not find a violation of the Article 8 of the ECHR, however, it did not in fact evaluate admissibility of actions of both the employee and his employer. The Small Chamber only evaluated whether the Romanian courts had done everything in their power during the proceedings to adequately protect the plaintiff’s rights in the context of disciplinary proceedings, the most severe of which was the termination of employment. The shift happened before the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR, which ruled that it was impossible to completely exclude private life from an individual, even in the workplace, thus recognizing a violation of the Article 8 of the ECHR. We have found that an employer can control employee’s electronic mail only if they have a valid and legitimate reason and if they inform the employee in advance, and can read the content of personal messages in exceptional cases, usually with a court order. With this case, the ECtHR has set stricter criteria for the Member States in weighing between employee’s interest in expectation of workplace privacy and employer’s interest in checking the use of office equipment and checking employee productivity. Contribution of the diploma thesis is primarily to formulate recommendations for employers regarding the control of office communication equipment and electronic mail of employers, and to underline the fact that there is a very thin line between working and private life in the workplace.

• Keywords: European Court of Human Rights, case law analysis, Article 8 of the ECHR, electronic mail, workplace privacy, surveillance, analysis of sources of law