Abstract
Discussions about generally accepted rules for personal data protection began in the 1970s, and in the early 1980s, the first international instruments appeared. Modern information technologies and cross-border data exchange have led to a discussion of the need to harmonise national laws for personal data protection. This article discusses international instruments for protecting personal data and the works of foreign scholars. The purpose of the study is to analyse international instruments and identify common positions, characteristics and differences. The practical value of the article lies in the fact that it allows us to understand the desire of countries to harmonise their national data protection regimes. The scientific relevance lies in that the existing international legal norms and approaches to regulating personal data protection outside of Kazakhstan have yet to be studied in Kazakhstani legal science. The discussions presented in this article are of scientific and practical interest to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students. General scientific and particular research methods were used to prepare the study. The normative basis of the study was the OECD Guidelines, Convention 108, UN Guidelines, APEC Framework, DPD, and the GDPR. The theoretical basis is the publications of well-known foreign scholars in the field of privacy, such authors as Graham Greenleaf, Christopher Kuner, Priscilla Regan, Anu Bradford, Colin Bennett and others. As a result of the study, it was concluded that most foreign authors recognise the European data protection model as a globally recognised standard being implemented in many countries. Key words: privacy, personal data, GDPR, Convention 108, APEC Framework, OECD Guidelines, UN Guidelines, Directive 95/46/EC.