Data & Privacy · Suriname
Data & Privacy - Suriname
Suriname does not yet have a comprehensive, GDPR-style data-protection law in force, nor a functioning national data-protection authority. A GDPR-influenced draft bill — establishing data-subject rights, controller/processor obligations and an independent Commissioner for the Protection of Personal Data — has been before the National Assembly for several years but, as of 2025, remained among unprocessed pending laws. Until it is enacted, privacy protection rests primarily on the constitutional guarantee in Article 17.
Suriname currently has no enacted general data-protection statute; the proposed bill is still in the legislative pipeline and not yet adopted.
The 'Ontwerpwet houdende regels ter bescherming van privacy en persoonsgegevens' sets rules for both automated and manual (filed) processing of personal data and is listed by the National Assembly as 'in behandeling' (under consideration).
The draft would create an independent 'Commissaris voor Persoonsgegevensbescherming' (Commissioner for the Protection of Personal Data) as the oversight body; no such authority is yet operational.
Article 17 of the 1987 Constitution guarantees everyone the right to respect for privacy, family life, home and honour, and protects the confidentiality of correspondence and telephone/telegraph communications — the main protection currently available.
The bill is modelled on international standards, notably the EU GDPR, and would introduce consent requirements, data-subject rights (access, rectification, erasure) and controller/processor obligations once enacted.
Surinamese press reporting in 2025 listed the privacy/personal-data bill among important laws left unprocessed by the National Assembly, indicating no near-term enactment had occurred.
Machine-assisted translation · verified 5/24/2026 · orientation, not legal advice. English version →