The word “confidentiality” is derived from the Latin word “confidentio”, which means to trust. This means that the circle of persons possessing confidential information is specifically known, and that information is entrusted to these persons. Therefore, the rules for access to confidential information by third parties are established by law. Thus, to protect the confidentiality of any secret information, the law sets out specific rules that cover the legal regime of confidential information:

Criteria for classifying information as confidential information and indications of a specific type of secret. These criteria are mainly related to the content of the information, but their disclosure harms other people in any way. For instance, if the content of a state secret is directly determined by law, the commercial value of the information in a trade secret is a criterion for the essential content.

 There are special legal rules for the protection of confidential information, as well as securing access to it. For instance, if a state secret is regulated by the establishment of this confidentiality regime, in case of duty related secret it is ensured by the obligation carried by the different professions representatives not to disclose the secret.

Disclosure of this information gives rise to liability. This can be a criminal, administrative or civil liability.

As mentioned in the article, in order to determine the responsibility for “data leakage” in the international exchange of information, problems should be resolved through mutual cooperation or regional control mechanisms.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Aliyev A, Rzayeva G, Ibrahimova A, Maharramov B, Mammadrzali S, Information law. Textbook (Nurlar 2019) (in English).

Websites

2. ‘Data protection at Eurojust’ (European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation) <https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/about-us/data-protection/data-protection-eurojust> (accessed: 16.09.2021) (in English).