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c. Law No. 2472/1997 on the protection of personal data
Greek legislation on data protection does not expressly state the right to be for-
gotten; it does, however, confirm this in articles 4§1(d) and 4§2 of Law No.
2472/1997 via the provision for the erasure of data that are no longer neces-
sary for the fulfilment of a processing purpose. The right to be forgotten also
serves the right to object, granted to individuals under article 13 of Law No.
2472/1997, in that it is the right of the data subject to put forward objections in
relation to the processing of information concerning him/her.
d. Criminal Procedure Code
Accordingly, Article 576§3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the
non-registration on copies of one’s criminal record intended for general use,
the content of all criminal records that state: a) monetary penalties or impris-
onment sentences of up to six months, after a 3-year period; b) a sentence of
imprisonment of more than six months or a sentence of incarceration in a psychi-
atric ward, after an 8-month post sentencing date; and c) imprisonment, after a
20-year post prison release date. Therefore, the law provides for the erasing of a
criminal record after a certain period of time has lapsed, thus granting both the
individual, as well as those around him, the chance to forget this past whilst of-
fering the opportunity to reconstruct one’s life.
e. Presidential decree 77/2003
In the same direction of recognising the existence of the right to be forgotten, we
also find Article 11§3 of Greek Presidential Decree 77/2003, according to which
“the conviction of a person with respect to a particular crime should not be re-
ferred to after this person’s sentence has been served, unless this is in the public
interest.” This public interest clause leaves open the opportunity for relativising
the right to be forgotten in cases where the public has a legitimate interest to
be informed (e.g., in the case of sexual offenders or violent repeat offenders),
in accordance with Article 367§2 of the Criminal Code. A legitimate interest in
information on behalf of the public can be said to exist in instances where crimes
remain fresh in the public’s mind, provided that references to these crimes do
not connect the past to the present and that the private lives of convicted persons
who have served their sentences is respected.
5
In view of the above, along with the right to be forgotten, the reproduction of
outdated news that is disparaging for its subject and which had been lawfully
5. See Charalambos Anthopoulos, ibid., p. 246 et seq.
