Supreme Court acquits women of snooping in data system

The Supreme Court acquits women of snooping in data system

Two women have been acquitted of misuse of office in both the district court, the high court, and the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has today delivered its verdict in the two women's cases. (Photo: © Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix)

By Ritzau ([email protected]) 37 minutes ago

Two women's snooping at their former workplace in Viborg Municipality was not serious enough to constitute a violation of the criminal code's section on misuse of office.

This is what the Supreme Court has concluded in its rulings in the two cases on Wednesday.

The judges at the country's highest court thus agree with both the Court in Viborg and the Western High Court, which also acquitted the women.

The case dates back to 2023, when the two women, who were at the time employed by Viborg Municipality, were discovered during a spot check.

The snooping involved 80-90 searches in a municipal data system for one woman and at least 241 searches for the other.

It is clear that there was no professional reason for the searches.

The employees looked at information such as place of residence, marital status, and other members of the household.

The two women have admitted that they made the searches in question. They have justified the searches with curiosity.

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Emphasized the accessed information

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The Supreme Court notes in summaries of the two rulings that the women were only charged with violating the section on misuse of office and not with violating data protection rules.

Here, the court states that less serious service offenses are not covered by the section on misuse of office.

Therefore, a specific assessment must be made of whether the case falls within the provision, it states.

When the cases were before the Western High Court, the court emphasized that the women had not processed the information or passed it on to others.

At the same time, the court has emphasized the nature of the accessed information and what the accused women themselves have explained.

Overall, the court did not find this serious enough to constitute a violation of private or public rights covered by section 155 of the criminal code, which is the section on misuse of office.

The Supreme Court agrees with this assessment.

RITZAU

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