Post-Brexit Data Protection Lawsuit at the 2026 Oxford Comparative Moot in German Law
On 21 May, the 2026 Oxford Comparative Moot in German Law brought together students, academics, and legal practitioners to examine the role of comparative methods in understanding data protection law in the post-Brexit context. This year’s event, held at the Faculty of Law with the generous support of Dr Martin Mekat and his colleagues at Freshfields PartG mbB, was organised by Dr Johannes Ungerer and Elisabeth Müller. The panel was chaired by Dame Eleanor Sharpston KC, former Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the EU; Rechtsanwalt Dr Mekat; and Dr Ungerer.
The Moot required students from the University of Oxford studying Law with German Law, together with exchange students from Germany, to address a data protection case study. The core issues were highly topical, as they were derived from a German case which is currently pending and has been referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling (C-654/25 Undelam). Participants were asked to consider how European and German perspectives might inform the interpretation of the UK GDPR.
In the Moot’s case study, a shop owner used newsletter software that did not comply with data protection law. The claimant signed up to the newsletter deliberately in order to trigger a data protection breach, and then sued for damages. This raised particular questions about compensation for loss of control over personal data and the claimant’s own involvement in bringing about that loss. More broadly, the case study required analysis of the role of EU and Member State case law in interpreting the GDPR as retained EU law, now known as ‘assimilated law’, in the UK.
One team approached the questions from the shop owner’s perspective, while the other represented the data subject. The panel was impressed by the students’ performance, especially given the difficulty of this specialist field, the complexity of the post-Brexit framework, and the contradictory or unresolved treatment of certain legal questions in data protection law. At the various stages of argument, the students were able to place the specific issues raised by the case within the broader purpose and policy considerations of English, EU, and German law.
The Moot participants received feedback from the panel as well as certificates and prizes. The event culminated afterwards in a celebratory drinks reception and dinner at St Hilda’s College, where all attendees enjoyed the opportunity to engage in further conversation.