Present and future of the exchange of electronic evidence in Europe

Crime has become global, and almost all crimes involve electronic evidence. A significant problem has become the exchange of data, across jurisdictions and between the domestic participants in the criminal judicial process. The exchange becomes crucial in counterterrorism operations and when dealing with global crimes. At the same time, a secure and trusted exchange of information and of electronic evidence relating to crimes is an important element in order to promote judicial cooperation in criminal matters, as well as to contribute to an effective and coherent application of EU Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) and European Investigation Order (EIO) procedures. This paper deals with the electronic evidence exchange in Europe, and more specifically with the new challenges of the implementation of the European Investigation Order Directive, in particular, and some of the results of the work carried out by the European Commission internally and by EU funded Projects. This contribution also proposes recommendations for future activities, and ideas for the follow-up of the results achieved and the policies promoted by the European Commission.