TY - JOUR
T1 - Cross-border access to electronic evidence in criminal matters: The new EU legislation and the consolidation of a paradigm shift in the area of ‘judicial’ cooperation
AU - Sachoulidou, Athina
PY - 2024/6/6
Y1 - 2024/6/6
N2 - As the ‘cyber’ element infiltrates a significant part of criminal activity, the significance of accessing electronic evidence has risen to a critical level. The storage of this evidence outside the investigating jurisdiction prompted law enforcement authorities to actively explore avenues for collaboration with private service providers on a voluntary basis. This has resulted in the establishment of an informal channel of cooperation, running parallel to those established through mutual legal assistance and the principle of mutual recognition. The EU legislator has recently formalised this type of cooperation by adopting the Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 on European Production Orders and European Preservation Orders for electronic evidence, along with the Directive (EU) 2023/1544. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the key provisions of this Regulation and reflects critically on the paradigm shift the latter seems to expand with respect to the privatisation of law enforcement tasks.
AB - As the ‘cyber’ element infiltrates a significant part of criminal activity, the significance of accessing electronic evidence has risen to a critical level. The storage of this evidence outside the investigating jurisdiction prompted law enforcement authorities to actively explore avenues for collaboration with private service providers on a voluntary basis. This has resulted in the establishment of an informal channel of cooperation, running parallel to those established through mutual legal assistance and the principle of mutual recognition. The EU legislator has recently formalised this type of cooperation by adopting the Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 on European Production Orders and European Preservation Orders for electronic evidence, along with the Directive (EU) 2023/1544. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the key provisions of this Regulation and reflects critically on the paradigm shift the latter seems to expand with respect to the privatisation of law enforcement tasks.
KW - electronic evidence
KW - judicial cooperation
KW - European Criminal Law
UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/20322844241258649
U2 - 10.1177/20322844241258649
DO - 10.1177/20322844241258649
M3 - Article
SN - 2032-2844
JO - New Journal of European Criminal Law
JF - New Journal of European Criminal Law
ER -