Transfer of Swiss Bank Customer Data to US-Authorities Held Legitimate

In its judgment of December 22, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) (Complaint no. 28601/11) assessed the transfer of bank customer data to the US tax authorities under the so called UBS-treaty as compatible with the human rights. An affected US citizen filed a complaint against the data transfer. The Court stated that there is a justified interest for Switzerland in the well-being of its banking sector and in order to achieve this aim, the cooperation with the US tax authorities was necessary. Furthermore, the transfer did not affect any highly personal data, but solely bank data which in the meaning of the Court do not enjoy the same strong protection. Switzerland, therefore, had broad discretionary power regarding its cooperation with the US tax authorities. Consequently, the Court did not find any transgression of competences or violations of human rights.