Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3th April 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how the CLIMPACT project (Charting the Landscape of Climate Litigation Impacts: An Interdisciplinary Framework and Open Access Database) collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data when you interact with this website and its services.

CLIMPACT is a research project funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through a Starting Grant under the Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (FIS 3), D.D. n. 1802 del 21 novembre 2024 — ERC Sector SH2. The project is based at the Dipartimento Jonico in Sistemi Giuridici ed Economici del Mediterraneo: società, ambiente, culture, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro.

This policy is drafted in compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation — GDPR) and the Italian Legislative Decree no. 196/2003, as amended by Legislative Decree no. 101/2018 (Codice in materia di protezione dei dati personali).

2. Data Controller

The Data Controller is the Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Piazza Umberto I, 1 — 70121 Bari, Italy.

The person responsible for data processing operations related to the CLIMPACT project is Dr. Giuseppe Naglieri, Principal Investigator, who can be contacted at giuseppe.naglieri@uniba.it or climpact.stg@uniba.it.

The Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the University of Bari Aldo Moro can be contacted at rpd@uniba.it.

3. Categories of Personal Data and Purposes of Processing

The CLIMPACT website collects and processes personal data through different channels and for different purposes, as described below.

3.1 Website Navigation and Cookies

When you visit this website, certain data is collected automatically by the hosting platform (Wix.com Ltd.) and by the technologies that support website functionality. This may include your IP address, browser type and version, device information, pages visited, time and date of access, and referring URL.

This data is processed for the purpose of ensuring the technical functioning of the website, maintaining its security, and generating anonymised usage statistics.

The website uses essential cookies that are strictly necessary for its operation, including security, session management, and basic functionality. In addition, the website may use analytics cookies to monitor site performance and usage patterns. Non-essential cookies are placed on your device only with your prior consent, which you can manage through the cookie consent banner displayed upon your first visit. You may withdraw your consent or modify your cookie preferences at any time through the same banner or through your browser settings.

The legal basis for the processing of data through essential cookies is the legitimate interest of the Data Controller in ensuring the proper functioning of the website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The legal basis for analytics and non-essential cookies is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

3.2 Newsletter

If you subscribe to the CLIMPACT newsletter, we collect your name, email address, and — where provided — your institutional affiliation. This data is used exclusively to send you periodic communications about the project's research activities, events, publications, and updates.

You may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in every newsletter communication or by writing to climpact.stg@uniba.it.

The legal basis for this processing is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

3.3 Application Hub

The CLIMPACT website hosts a centralised submission portal (Application Hub) through which candidates may apply to the project's various open calls, including calls for papers, calls for applications to research positions, calls for interest in governance and advisory bodies, and calls for contributions.

Depending on the specific call, the data collected may include: your name, email address, institutional affiliation, country, career stage, research interests, a brief professional biography, a statement of interest, a curriculum vitae, cover letters, writing samples, and other supporting documents submitted by you.

This data is processed for the sole purpose of evaluating your submission in connection with the relevant call, communicating with you regarding the outcome, and — where applicable — managing your participation in the project. Your data will be accessed only by the Principal Investigator and by members of the research team or administrative staff directly involved in the evaluation and management of the relevant call.

Where you have given your consent through the dedicated option in the submission form, your email address and contact details may also be used to send you the CLIMPACT newsletter and communications about the project's activities.

The legal basis for processing data submitted through the Application Hub is the legitimate interest of the Data Controller in evaluating applications and managing the project's research activities (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), as well as — where applicable — the performance of pre-contractual measures at the request of the data subject (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Where data is used for newsletter communications, the legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).

3.4 Contact and Contribution Forms

The website may include forms through which you can contact the project team, submit suggestions regarding climate litigation cases, or share reflections and materials relevant to the project's research. The data collected through these forms includes your name, email address, institutional affiliation (where provided), and the content of your message.

This data is processed for the purpose of receiving and responding to your communication and, where relevant, incorporating your contribution into the project's research activities in accordance with applicable ethical and scientific standards.

The legal basis for this processing is the legitimate interest of the Data Controller in receiving and responding to communications related to the project (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

3.5 Surveys and Research Activities

In the course of its research, CLIMPACT may conduct surveys, interviews, or other data collection activities involving human participants. Where such activities take place through this website or through linked platforms, specific and detailed information on the data collected, the purposes of processing, and the applicable safeguards will be provided to participants at the time of data collection, together with a dedicated consent form.

The legal basis for processing personal data in the context of research activities is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), in conjunction — where applicable — with Art. 89 GDPR and the relevant provisions of Italian law governing the processing of personal data for scientific research purposes.

4. Data Retention

Personal data collected through newsletter subscriptions is retained until you withdraw your consent or request its deletion.

Personal data submitted through the Application Hub is retained for the duration of the relevant selection process and, following its conclusion, for a period not exceeding the duration of the project (48 months from its launch), unless a longer retention period is required by law or by the University's record-keeping obligations. Data relating to candidates who are selected for a position or role within the project may be retained for the full duration of their engagement and for such additional period as may be required by applicable regulations.

Personal data collected through contact and contribution forms is retained for the time necessary to process and respond to your communication and, where the content is relevant to the project's research, for the duration of the project.

Data collected through surveys and research activities is retained in accordance with the specific information provided at the time of collection and with the project's Data Management Plan, which follows the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Where possible, research data is anonymised or pseudonymised.

At the end of the applicable retention period, your data will be securely deleted or irreversibly anonymised.

5. Data Recipients

Your personal data may be accessed by:

the Principal Investigator and the members of the CLIMPACT research team, in the exercise of their functions;
administrative and technical staff of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, where necessary for the management of the project;
the hosting platform provider (Wix.com Ltd.), which processes data on behalf of the Data Controller as a data processor, in accordance with a Data Processing Agreement compliant with Art. 28 GDPR.

Your data will not be sold, shared with, or transferred to third parties for commercial or promotional purposes. Disclosure to other recipients may occur only where required by law or by order of a competent authority.

6. International Data Transfers

This website is hosted on the Wix.com platform. Wix.com Ltd. is based in Israel, which has been recognised by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of protection for personal data (Commission Decision 2011/61/EU).

However, in the course of providing its hosting and related services, Wix may process or store data in facilities located in the United States of America, Ireland, and other jurisdictions where its infrastructure, sub-processors, or cloud service providers (including Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform) operate. Where such transfers involve countries that have not received an adequacy decision from the European Commission, they are carried out on the basis of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) adopted pursuant to Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR, together with additional technical, contractual, and organisational safeguards implemented by Wix. Further information on Wix's data processing practices and sub-processors is available at https://www.wix.com/about/privacy and https://support.wix.com/en/article/list-of-wixs-sub-processors.

The CLIMPACT project does not independently transfer personal data outside the European Economic Area. Should the need arise in the context of specific research activities, any such transfer will be carried out in compliance with the safeguards provided for by Chapter V of the GDPR, and specific information will be provided to the data subjects concerned.

7. Data Security

Your personal data is protected through appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to prevent unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or destruction. These measures are implemented both at the level of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, in accordance with its institutional data protection policies, and at the level of the hosting platform, which maintains industry-standard security certifications and protocols.

8. Your Rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to:

access your personal data and obtain a copy of it (Art. 15);
request the rectification of inaccurate or incomplete data (Art. 16);
request the erasure of your data, where the conditions set out in Art. 17 are met;
request the restriction of processing in the circumstances provided for by Art. 18;
receive your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and, where technically feasible, have it transmitted to another controller (Art. 20);
object to the processing of your data on grounds relating to your particular situation, where the processing is based on a legitimate interest (Art. 21);
withdraw your consent at any time, where the processing is based on consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to the withdrawal (Art. 7(3)).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the Principal Investigator at climpact.stg@uniba.it or the Data Protection Officer of the University of Bari Aldo Moro at rpd@uniba.it.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali — www.garanteprivacy.it) if you believe that the processing of your personal data infringes the GDPR or applicable national legislation.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in our data processing practices, in the services offered through this website, or in the applicable legal framework. Any update will be published on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

10. Contact

For any question or concern regarding this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal data in connection with the CLIMPACT project, please contact:

Dr. Giuseppe Naglieri — Principal Investigator Email: climpact.stg@uniba.it

Data Protection Officer — DPO Email: rpd@uniba.it