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Section 4b Transfer of personal data abroad and to supranational or international bodies

1) The transfer of personal data to bodies

1. in other Member States of the European Union,

2. in other states parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or

3. institutions and bodies of the European Communities

shall be subject to Section 15 (1), Section 16 (1) and Sections 28 to 30 in accordance with the laws and agreements applicable to such transfer, in so far as transfer is effected in connection with activities which fall in part or in their entirety within the scope of the law of the European Communities.

Section 4c Exceptions

1) In connection with activities which fall in part or in their entirety within the scope of the law of the European Communities, the transfer of personal data to bodies other than those stated in Section 4b (1) above shall be admissible even if such bodies do not guarantee an adequate level of data protection, in so far as

1. the data subject has given his consent,

2. the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the controller or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken in response to the data subject's request,

3. the transfer is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract which has been or is to be entered into in the interest of the data subject between the controller and a third party,

4. the transfer is necessary on important public interest grounds, or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims,

5. the transfer is necessary in order to protect the vital interests of the data subject,

6. the transfer is made from a register which is intended to provide information to the public and which is open to consultation either by the public in general or by any person who can demonstrate a legitimate interest, to the extent that the statutory conditions are fulfilled in the particular case.

It shall be pointed out to the recipient body that the transferred data may be processed or used only for the purpose for which they have been transferred.

(2) Without prejudice to the first sentence of Section 1, the competent supervisory authority may authorise individual transfers or certain categories of transfers of personal data to bodies other than those stated in Section 4b (1) above, if the controller adduces adequate safeguards with respect to the protection of privacy and exercise of the corresponding rights; such safeguards may in particular result from contractual clauses or binding corporate regulations. In the case of postal and telecommunications companies, competence lies with the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. In so far as transfer is to be effected by public bodies, the latter shall carry out the examination in accordance with the first sentence of Section 1 above.

(3) The Länder shall notify the Federation of the decisions made in accordance with sentence 1 of Section 2 above.

Please see the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information website for further details on the statute