In order to ensure the data protection of natural persons in requests for a preliminary ruling, the Court of Justice has decided to replace the names of natural persons involved in the case with initials. Similarly, the Court will remove any additional element likely to allow identification of the persons concerned. The new rules apply to all public documents involving requests for preliminary rulings brought after 1 July 2018. They also apply to all publications in the handling of the case, from its lodging to its closure and even to the name of the case. The Court will give anonymised cases a name according to a system outlined in the guidelines. It may, however, derogate from these rules in the event of an express request from a party or if the particular circumstances of the case justify derogation.

The new guidelines do not affect legal persons.