On 22 November 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered a judgment, following preliminary questions from the Luxembourg District Court, about the legal tenability of the UBO register in light of the fundamental rights from Article 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights: the right to respect for private life and family life, and the right to the protection of personal data, respectively. The ECJ held that the required public access to the information in the UBO register is invalid.
On 27 September 2020, the Dutch UBO Register entered into effect. It is administered by the Chamber of Commerce. Besides the “ordinary” UBO Register, the Dutch UBO Register for trusts and similar legal constructions also entered into effect on 01 November 2022. The UBO Register registers certain personal data of the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of companies and other legal entities or constructions (subject to registration). The introduction of the UBO Register follows from European regulations and applies in all Member States.
The ECJ has now held that the required public access to the UBO Register is invalid. According to the ECJ, public access to UBO data constitutes a serious interference with the right to respect for private life and the right to the protection of personal data. In a letter to the Dutch Lower House of Parliament, the Finance Minister has announced that this ruling will be studied in more detail and that its consequences for the Dutch UBO Register will be identified. For the time being, the Minister stated that the obligation to register for UBOs in the Netherlands will continue to exist in any case.
