The Ombudsman received a complaint regarding a decision issued by the Land Office Registration concerning the existence of buildings registered in the name of a third party. Upon the absence of the cadastral register and the parish, both required for the research, the complainant was informed that his request could not be fulfilled. A similar request was made to the tax department which had the same outcome. According to the Estate Registration Code the public nature of the register means that anyone can request certificates of registration and get information about its content. This does not mean these bodies have or can disclose information related to the patrimonial situation of a third party as such. In fact what is legally guaranteed is the access to the information based on a registration and filed documents but not the access to the information related to eg the real estate of an individual as that would be personal data and contrary to the scope of the register. In this line the personal data requested could only be disclosed to the authorities legally legitimized to do so, which was not the case of the complainant. Furthermore it is important to point out the relevancy of both the right to information and the right to privacy. The rule of tax secrecy configures an extension and acknowledgement of the right to privacy in what concerns the tax activity which includes taxpayers’ personal data and their tax situation. This right has implicit the right to secrecy all tax officers shall abide to, preserving citizens reliance and, on the other side, protecting their privacy. In conclusion, data collected aiming a specific purpose can only be disclosed to others administrative authorities under the situations provided by law. • Case Q-4026/15 Entity addressed: Council of Justice Officials Date: 2016.06.22 Subject: Court clerk action The complainant argued against the denial of the right to access a case file and the related certified copy. The Ombudsman provided some clarifications on this matter in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code regarding the publicity of judicial cases. Although there is the right to access judicial cases and attached documents this access is not absolute. Thus when that access might interfere or offend the fundamental rights of the parties involved or jeopardize the effectiveness of a future decision that right should be restricted. | 151