The European Union’s highest court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), set a judgment date of October 6, 2015 for Maximillian Schrems v. Data Protection Commissioner, the case which may decide the fate of the current U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework (Safe Harbor).

The final judgment will be announced less than two weeks after the court’s Advisor General submitted his opinion to the court that (1) Safe Harbor is invalid and (2) member state data protection authorities and courts should have the power to weigh in on EU “adequacy” determinations. The speed with which the court is moving is thought to be a sign that the court will side with the Advocate General.

The ECJ scheduling announcement comes a day after the United States Mission to the European Union (U.S. Mission) issued a statement strongly supporting Safe Harbor and refuting the national security overreach allegations found in the ECJ Advocate General’s opinion.

An announcement from the European Commission and U.S. Department of Commerce on a renegotiated Safe Harbor agreement is still forthcoming and eagerly anticipated.

For further details, see our full client alert on the matter.