The paper is a review of the most important standards of personal data protection developed by international organizations including the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The paper describes both universal standards of the United Nations, as well as regional standards (Council of Europe and European Union) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It presents the development of international regulations concerning the protection of personal data, indicating at the same time in which countries of Central and Eastern Europe the particular documents apply. The paper constitutes an attempt to assess the consistency of international solutions and their real impact on national legislation.