ABOUT #GDPR2019 CONFERENCE

International Conference “GDPR and Data Protection in Montenegro” will be held on December 16, 2019 at CentreVille Hotel & Experiences in Podgorica. The conference is organized by the Faculty of Law, University of Montenegro. General sponsor of this Conference is Sky Express company.

In business, topic of GDPR has become number one in the past year, which is not surprising since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on May 25, 2018. Montenegro as a candidate country for EU membership, has an obligation to align national legislation with European Union law and is continuously working to bring national legislation in line with European legislation.

What happened with process of implementing GDPR? What does GDPR mean for the citizens of Montenegro, what does it mean for the Montenegrin economy, and what obligations does it impose on public authorities in Montenegro? Can our citizens expect the level of protection of personal data same as EU citizens have? Are companies in Montenegro ready to implement GDPR and what challenges do they have to deal with?

These are just some of the main questions that conference attendees will try to answer.

The aim of this Conference is to bring the attention of the general public to the importance of GDPR and to raise awareness of how this regulative will affect, not only companies and individuals, but also various other stakeholders, primarily the economy and public authorities, whose duty is to protect the rights of the individual.

The Conference will encourage dialogue between regulatory bodies, government institutions, the academic public, as well as representatives of companies to which the General Regulation applies, through interactive lectures, panel discussions and exchanges of experience, while also highlighting the challenges posed by the implementation of GDPR, in the extent to which it will affect the business of companies, but also provide suggestions for possible solutions, based on real-world examples.

Experts in the field of personal data protection, representatives of the Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Chamber of Commerce of Montenegro, Agency for Personal Data Protection in Montenegro, as well as professors of the Law Faculty and representatives of successful companies will speak at the Conference. The Conference will also be attended by some of the most prominent international experts in the field of personal data protection and cyber security.

Who Should Attend?

If the conduct of your business is in any way related to the collection, exchange, processing or situation of personal data, the rules on personal data protection apply to you. Since Montenegro is a candidate for EU membership, it is obliged to align its legislation with European regulations. Moreover, this means that a law very similar to the EU GDPR Regulation will be adopted, and both the public and private sectors of Montenegro will be obliged to protect citizens’ personal data in accordance with European standards. Since non-compliance with these regulations entails high fines, there is a clear need for timely alignment of the organizations’ business with the new regulation.

The Conference is intended for the management of all companies that in any way collect or process personal data, business owners, sales and marketing managers, HR and IT directors who will be the first echelon when dealing with the Regulation. This is also a conference for the management of telecommunications operators, financial institutions, healthcare institutions, distribution centers, public companies, educational centers, as well as all individuals who want to follow the latestdevelopments in corporate security.

WHAT IS GDPR?

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is one of the most important international regulations in the field of personal data protection, and applies not only to EU member states, but also on non-EU countries. The territorial scope of this act has been extended, so the Regulation also applies to the personal data of persons located in the European Union by a data processor or processor who is not established in the European Union, if the activities are related to the provision of goods and services to persons in the European Union, or by monitoring their behavior if their behavior takes place within the Union. This practically means that companies having their registered office in Montenegro must also comply with the rules of the Regulation if they are processing personal data of persons in the European Union. When GDPR is implemented, much will change and improve in the context of protecting one of our fundamental human rights – the right to the protection of personal data.

Montenegro has been waiting for some time for a new Law on Personal Data Protection, which would incorporate GDPR principles into the domestic legal framework and thus align this area with EU standards, which is crucial for the adequate exercise of citizens’ rights and the development of domestic companies that use personal information in their business, because this is the only way to ensure legal certainty.

Around 200 participants are expected, including: