The Schengen Information System (SIS) is the most important system for security and border management in Europe. As there are no border control checkpoints between member states within the Schengen Area, the SIS assists the national authorities to preserveinternal security by sharing information between the countries. For that purpose, the SIS needs to collect data. This collected data contains information about a particular person or object as well as instructions for the authorities. Despite the benefitsfrom the SIS, misusage, the collecting of wrong data or the unlawful storage of data is still a problem. In accordance with data protection principles, all individuals whose data is processed within the SIS are recognized appropriate rights.

If you need any information on how to exercise those specific rights or assistance in order to exercise them, do not hesitate to contact our team of high-qualified lawyers. Due to our extensive experience and knowledge, we are able to support you with any issue regarding the SIS.

The SIS assists the European authorities in maintaining security within Europe in three different ways. The border control cooperation allows border control authorities to enter and consult alerts on third-country nationals in order to refuse their entry into or stay in the Schengen Area. Via law enforcement cooperation, national authorities can create alerts on missing persons or individuals and objects of interest to a criminal investigation. Cooperation on vehicle registration simplifies checking the legal status of a vehicle presented to the vehicle registration services for registration.

On one hand, SIS enables competent national authorities to enter and consult alerts on persons or objects in this way. On the other hand, it allows the authorities to issue alerts on individuals and objects, accessible for all member countries. Depending on the type of the alert issued, this can have a significant impact on the life of an individual. Therefore, it can be vital to know about the ways such an alert can affect you and, in addition to that, about the legal remedies you have to protect your specific rights regarding the SIS.

Authorities can only retrieve relevant information about a person or an object, if there is any data stored within the databases of the SIS. Such alerts about individuals or items can be created by authorities of the member states. The reason and the purpose of the alerts varies. There are alerts on people who have been refused entry or stay in any Schengen country, alerts on individuals who are wanted for arrest (based on either a European arrest warrant or an extradition request) or alerts to find missing persons. There are other alerts in order to find a particular person or object necessary for the purposes of prosecuting criminal offences or assisting with criminal judicial procedures.

Prior to requesting whether there is any personal data about a person stored in the SIS, it is important to understand what kind of data is entered in the SIS. ASIS alert contains of three different parts: a set of data for identifying the person or object that is subject of the alert, a statement for what reason the person or object is wanted and instructions for the authorities on what to do when the person or object has been found. The minimum data set to identify a person contains the name and the year of birth. Additionally, photographs and biometric information, such as fingerprints or DNA, are usually stored as well. This should facilitate identification and lead to avoiding misidentification. However, the risk of misusage or unlawfully storage always inheres to the collecting and processing ofdata about individuals. Considering this risk, exercising control about the personal data kept by third parties seems essential. We kindly offer our expertise to you in order to simplify this personal control by assisting you with requests and, depending on the findings, supporting you with exercising your rights.

The SIS is used by 30 European countries. These are all members of the Schengen Area as well as Bulgaria and Romania, which have also full access to the SIS, and some other countries, such as the UK, that have limited access. Within those member countries, the SIS can be used by official authorities. Currently, these include, inter alia, the police, national border control, visa and immigration officials as well as judicial authorities. With plans inprospect to reform and update SIS, the list of authorities that have access to SIS alerts will expand in the near future. Soon, aircraft and boat authorities as well as FRONTEX shall be enabled to view SIS alerts in categories related to their areas of responsibility.

All individuals whose data is processed in the SIS are recognized specific rights, particularly according to data protection principles. These rights contain the right of access to personal data about you stored in the SIS and the right of correction of deletion of this data. As all of the national databases are identical to the central system database, it is possible to exercise any of those rights in the state of your choice. Therefore, we are able to provide legal assistance in accessing or deleting yourdata from the SIS in any Schengen State. Even if the data comes from a foreign state, it is possible for us to request access, correction or deletion wherever you want to. When a member state receives a request on an alert not issued by itself, that member state has to give the issuing country the opportunity to take a position regarding the alert and the request. Our full-service law firm offers to undertakecommunication with the competent authorities. To work in effective cooperation with our clients, we inform them about any further steps or responses of the authorities as soon as possible. This allows us to solve their issues successfully and reliably.

The right of access makes it possible for every person whose data is stored in the SIS to request to have knowledge about the information relating to them. This is a fundamental principle of data protection. Therefore, we want to assist you in exercising this right at the best possible. An individualcan exercise its right of access either direct, by applying directly to the authorities processing the data, or indirectly, by applying to the national data protection authority. Regardless of the way you want to exercise your right of access, it is always possible to represented by your lawyers.

Furthermore, every person has the right to obtain the correction of personal data factually inaccurate or incomplete and the right to ask for deletion of unlawfully stored personal data. The member state responsible for issuing the alert is the only one that is able to alter or delete it. If you request correction or deletion in another member state, the competent authorities will cooperate to handle the case, by exchanging the informationnecessary. It is highly important for a successful request to provide the grounds for the request precisely. Therefore, you need to present all relevant information clearly and concisely. Our law firm has the necessary experience to gather the relevant information to support your case. As we have assisted many clients in different situations, we can provide the expertise required to solve your individual legal issues successfully.

In case your request has not been satisfied, your legal remedies are still not exhausted. Any person is then allowed to bring an action before the courts or the authority competent in the particular member state to obtain access, correction or deletion of their personal data. If the complaint contains a cross-border element, courts and authorities have to cooperate to guarantee the adequate protection of every individuals rights. 

The procedure of exercising your rights is the only thing that varies between the different member states. As an international law firm, we are able to assist with the proceedings in the country of your choice and to inform you about the differences to other member states. We provide all therequired information for you to present your case to the particular authorities and to advise you on the best options, individually for your situation.