Operational Circular No. 11 (Rev. 1), entitled “The processing of personal data at CERN”, approved by the Director-General, is now available via the following link.

This revision cancels and replaces Operational Circular No. 11, entitled “The processing of personal data at CERN”, dated January 2019, and its two annexes, which came into force on 1 July 2021.

The objective of this revision is to reduce both legal and reputational risks by clarifying key elements, such as the conditions for consent, the procedure for undertaking a Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA), the role of external entities, CERN’s position as a data controller and references to data subject rights. At the same time, the provisions of Operational Circular No. 11 have been simplified where possible, while maintaining an equivalent level of personal data protection.

The revised Circular entered into force on 1 February 2026.