Recital (80)

While this Directive applies also to the activities of national courts and other judicial authorities, the competence of the supervisory authorities should not cover the processing of personal data where courts are acting in their judicial capacity, in order to safeguard the independence of judges in the performance of their judicial tasks. That exemption should be limited to judicial activities in court cases and not apply to other activities where judges might be involved in accordance with Member State law. Member States should also be able to provide that the competence of the supervisory authority does not cover the processing of personal data of other independent judicial authorities when acting in their judicial capacity, for example public prosecutor's office. In any event, the compliance with the rules of this Directive by the courts and other independent judicial authorities is always subject to independent supervision in accordance with Article 8(3) of the Charter.