EU court to rule on exam papers case

The EU’s top court will issue a ruling today which could have major implications for all exam bodies and the rights of candidates to examine their own test papers.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will determine whether the contents of exam papers can be regarded as personal data in a landmark case brought by Peter Nowak, a trainee accountant from Arklow, Co Wicklow. He failed an accountancy exam overseen by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland (CAI) on four occasions and sought access to his test papers.

The ruling is expected to be closely watched by the State Examinations Commission, which oversees the Leaving and Junior Certificate exams.