The 5th Petar Šarčević International Scientific Conference titled Information and Data - The Road Ahead was held in Opatija, Croatia, 6-7 October 2017. In the words of Kristian Turkalj, State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia:

"I believe that it is truly important to talk about these topics at a scientific and professional level, in particular within the format of the conference such as the Petar Šarčević conference series which gathers large number of eminent foreign and domestic scientists and experts in the respective fields. As I expected, presentations by eminent participants once again demonstrated the importance of the contribution this conference has for disseminating the current European solutions and the most recent developments in European and comparative, law among the members of the legal profession. In my opinion this conference was indeed useful to all participants as it offered the platform for discussion and analysis of legislative novelties and case law in the areas in focus."

This two-day event was dedicated to issues of protection of confidential information, business secrets and personal data in the context of technological advancement and resulting economic and social developments. These topics are important both for the ones whose information and data are at stake and those who have an interest in knowing or using them. Given the recent EU legislation and case-law, the need for compliance is pressuring upon not only for EU-based companies, but also others whose operations involve EU residents.

The conference was divided into three sessions: Protection of confidential information v access/disclosure, Managing data protection: A tall order for controllers and subjects, and Litigation in the midst of economic and technological changes. More information is available here.