scholarly journals All evidence is equal, but electronic evidence is more equal than any other: The relationship between the European Investigation Order and the European Production Order

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-183
Author(s):  
Stanislaw Tosza

The European Investigation Order (EIO) was supposed to offer a comprehensive solution to cross-border gathering of evidence within the area of freedom, security and justice replacing a patchwork of instruments and providing for one single standardised order for all types of evidence. However, not even a year since the deadline for its implementation had passed, the Commission proposed an instrument that would be applicable for electronic evidence: European Production Order (EPO). This initiative was born from an increasing frustration in gathering this type of evidence and the conviction that the EIO is not suitable for that purpose. The need for digital evidence (according to the estimate of the EU Commission, 85% of criminal investigations require electronic evidence) is a direct consequence of the place information and communication technology has taken in everyday life. However, electronic evidence differs in a number of ways from ‘real-life’ evidence rendering current legal framework extremely impractical for law enforcement. One of the major obstacles that law enforcement authorities encounter is the fact that the data they need are often stored abroad or by a foreign service provider. Both instruments were conceived because of the need to gather evidence across borders; however, the transnational component is different (evidence being abroad vs. service provider being foreign). Both instruments subject ‘European citizens to the investigative machinery of any other Member State’, however, in a different way. If the e-evidence package is adopted, it will create a dual system of cross-border gathering of evidence, with different philosophy, procedure, enforcement and protective framework. The goal of this article is to analyse and compare two different models of acquiring evidence that these two instruments offer as well as to delimitate their (non-exclusive) scope. The concluding part will provide a reflection on the systemic consequences of this duality of instruments and of introducing the EPO model in particular.

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-353
Author(s):  
Maciej Rogalski

Abstract In response to problems that exist in practice pertaining to how law enforcement authorities in European Union Member States can obtain electronic evidence concerning the commission of a crime, on 17 April 2018 a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European Production and Preservation Orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters (COM(2018) 225 final, 2018/0108 (cod)) was published. The proposal contains a series of new solutions aimed at speeding up and facilitating cooperation within the EU on obtaining electronic evidence in criminal matters. It is worth examining how the specific solutions accepted and the way they have been formulated may affect the fundamental rights of participants in criminal proceedings, particularly when that impact may be adverse. From this perspective, a detailed analysis is made of what entities will be authorised to issue European Production Orders, in relation to what kinds of electronic evidence, and under what conditions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-67
Author(s):  
Vinesh M Basdeo ◽  
Moses Montesh ◽  
Bernard Khotso Lekubu

Investigating, deterring and imposing legal sanctions on cyber-criminals warrants an international legal framework for the investigation and prosecution of cybercrime. The real-world limits of local, state and national sovereignty and jurisdiction cannot be ignored by law-enforcement officials. It can be a strenuous task to obtain information from foreign countries, especially on an expedited basis – more specifically when the other country is in a different time zone, has a different legal system, does not have trained experts and uses different languages. In South Africa existing laws appear to be inadequate for policing the cyber realm. The effects and impact of information technology on the legal system have not yet received the attention they warrant. The challenges presented by the electronic realm cannot be solved merely by imposing existing criminal and criminal procedural laws which govern the physical world on cyberspace. The electronic realm does not necessarily demand new laws, but it does require that criminal actions be conceptualised differently and not from a purely traditional perspective. Sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of another state are fundamental principles grounding the relations between states; they constitute an important mechanism in the armoury of criminals. The harmonisation and enactment of adequate and appropriate transborder coercive procedural measures consequently play a pivotal role in facilitating effective international cooperation. This article examines the efficacy of South African laws in dealing with the challenges presented by police powers to search for and seize evidence in cyber environments. It analyses the rudimentary powers that exist in South African criminal procedure regarding the search for and seizure of evidence in cyber environments, and compares them against the backdrop of the more systemic and integrated approach proposed by the Cybercrime Convention.


Author(s):  
Valentyna Bohatyrets ◽  
Liubov Melnychuk ◽  
Yaroslav Zoriy

This paper seeks to investigate sustainable cross-border cooperation (CBC) as a distinctive model of interstate collaboration, embedded in the neighboring borderland regions of two or more countries. The focus of the research revolves around the establishment and further development of geostrategic, economic, cultural and scientific capacity of the Ukrainian-Romanian partnership as a fundamental construct in ensuring and strengthening the stability, security and cooperation in Europe. This research highlights Ukraine’s aspirations to establish, develop and diversify bilateral good-neighborly relations with Romania both regionally and internationally. The main objective is to elucidate Ukraine-Romania cross-border cooperation initiatives, inasmuch Ukraine-Romania CBC has been stirring up considerable interest in terms of its inexhaustible historical, cultural and spiritual ties. Furthermore, the similarity of the neighboring states’ strategic orientations grounds the basis for development and enhancement of Ukraine-Romania cooperation. The authors used desk research and quantitative research to conclude that Ukraine-Romania CBC has the impact not only on the EU and on Ukraine multi-vector foreign policy, but it also has the longer-term global consequences. In the light of the current reality, the idea of introducing and reinforcing the importance of Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) sounds quite topical and relevant. This research considers a number of explanations for Ukraine-Romania Cross-Border Cooperation as a key element of the EU policy towards its neighbors. Besides, the subject of the research is considered from different perspectives in order to show the diversity and complexity of the Ukraine-Romania relations in view of the fact that sharing common borders we are presumed to find common solutions. As the research has demonstrated, the Ukraine-Romania cross border cooperation is a pivotal factor of boosting geostrategic, economic, political and cultural development for each participant country, largely depending on the neighboring countries’ cohesion and convergence. Significantly, there is an even stronger emphasis on the fact that while sharing the same borders, the countries share common interests and aspirations for economic thriving, cultural exchange, diplomatic ties and security, guaranteed by a legal framework. The findings of this study have a number of important implications for further development and enhancement of Ukraine-Romania cooperation. Accordingly, the research shows how imperative are the benefits of Romania as a strategic partner for outlining top priorities of Ukraine’s foreign policy.


Author(s):  
Anton Koshelev ◽  
Ekaterina Rusakova

A significant leap in the development of information technology over the past twenty years has made the global legal community respond to new challenges that have come along with the progress in the digital environment. Together with the convenience of using electronic resources, society has developed a need for a simple and understandable legislative regulation of legal relations arising from the use of computer information technologies and various products of electronic digital activity in order to protect their interests potentially. The concept and types of electronic evidence in civil proceedings in different countries have different meanings. Meanwhile, the regulations of their procedural admissibility and applicability differ. The common thing is the tendency towards an increase in the use of electronic information carriers in court proceedings, increasing importance for establishing specific facts, and the decisive evidentiary role in making decisions by the court. India became one of the first countries to realize the growing level of implementation of Internet technologies, electronic digital storage media, and computer dominance in society and the state's daily life [1] (Artemyeva, Y.A. et al.). The consequence of this understanding was the timely development and implementation of the substantive and procedural bases in evidence law for practical, understandable, and convenient use of electronic evidence in civil proceedings. The article examines the types and procedural status of electronic evidence and analyzes the current legislation and law enforcement practice in the admissibility and application of electronic evidence in civil proceedings in India. The study identifies the existing system of electronic evidence in the legal field of India, the determination of the advantages and disadvantages in the gathering, presentation, research, and evaluation of electronic evidence by the court in civil proceedings, as well as the identification of the procedural order for their provision. The researchers have identified the following tasks to achieve the goals: • to define and research the legislation of India governing the concept, types and procedural order of applicability and admissibility of electronic evidence in civil proceedings in India; • to develop a particular procedural order for the effective use of the institution of electronic evidence in civil litigation in India; • to identify the current trends in the gathering, presentation, research, and evaluation of electronic evidence in India's courts, based on the established judicial practice study. The research methodology is based on general theoretical and scientific methods of cognition, including abstraction and specification, analysis and synthesis, modeling and comparison, and systemic, logical, and functional analyzes. The scientific novelty of the research consists of a comprehensive study of the instruments of legal regulation of the institution of electronic evidence in India's legal field, including regulatory legal acts and judicial precedents, and a consideration of the possibility of applying Indian approaches in the jurisdictions of other countries. The analysis of legislation and jurisprudence regarding electronic evidence in India's civil proceedings was carried out using the synergistic principle of object study, statistical-sequential analysis, and empirical research method. This study's results can be used in lawmaking to develop and improve regulations regarding the procedural status and use of electronic evidence in civil litigation in any country. The reference, citation, and use of this article's conclusions and materials are permissible when conducting lectures and seminars on civil procedure and private international law, research activities, law enforcement practice, and teaching.


Author(s):  
Matteo Gargantini ◽  
Carmine Di Noia ◽  
Georgios Dimitropoulos

This chapter analyzes the current regulatory framework for cross-border distribution of investment funds and submits some proposals to improve it. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a schematic description of the legal taxonomy for collective investment schemes. Section 3 addresses the EU disclosure regimes that apply to the distribution of various types of investment funds. Sections 4 and 5 consider conduct-of-business rules and, respectively, the legal framework for the allocation of supervisory powers on product regulation when fund units are distributed in more than one country. Section 6 provides some data that help assess the performance of the current framework for cross-border distribution. It then analyzes some of the residual legal rules and supervisory practices that still make cross-border distributions of funds more burdensome than purely national distributions, whether these restrictions are set forth in the country where investors are domiciled (Section 7) or in the fund's home country (Section 8).


Author(s):  
Luca Giommoni ◽  
Giulia Berlusconi ◽  
Alberto Aziani

AbstractThere is a relative dearth of literature on both the effects of cross-border interdictions and the impact of different types of interventions on international drug trafficking. This study identifies the main trafficking routes for cocaine and heroin, along with comparing the disruptive effects induced by targeted and non-coordinated interventions. It adopts a social network approach to identify the routes along which cocaine and heroin are trafficked, and then simulates the impact of different interdiction strategies on these two trafficking networks. The findings indicate that targeting countries based on their respective positions in the networks, as opposed to on the basis of the quantity of drugs exchanged, is more likely to disrupt drug flows. More specifically, concentrating law enforcement resources on countries with several incoming or outgoing trafficking connections, or those countries that mediate between producer, transit and consumer countries, would appear to be particularly effective in this regard. Interventions focused on specific trafficking routes are also likely to be effective if these routes have high edge betweenness centrality scores. This study contributes to extant understanding on the vulnerability of cocaine and heroin international trafficking networks, and, moreover, demonstrates that empirically-driven strategies are potentially more effective at interdicting international trafficking than non-strategic and non-coordinated interventions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 50-59
Author(s):  
Ф.Н. Зейналов

В статье автором рассматривается нормативное правовое закрепление порядка осуществления общеполицейских функций сотрудниками Госавтоинспекции, патрульно-постовой службы полиции в том числе и в сфере обеспечения безопасности дорожного движения. Приводятся статистические сведения, подчеркивающие актуальность имеющейся проблемы разграничения полномочий указанных служб федеральным законодательством, подзаконными актами и ведомственными приказами МВД. Авто- ром проведен анализ судебной практики по исследуемой проблеме, высказаны предложения по внесению изменений в федераль- ное законодательство. Положения работы могут быть использованы в законодательной деятельности государственных органов, правоприменительной деятельности правоохранительных органов, образовательном процессе образовательных организаций, на- учных исследованиях специалистов по проблемам обеспечения безопасности дорожного движения, совершенствования отраслей российской правовой системы. Новизна работы определяется практической и научной значимостью проблем правоприменительной деятельности правоохранительных органов в сфере обеспечения безопасности дорожного движения, а также необходимостью со- вершенствования правовых основ, регламентирующих полномочия подразделений и служб полиции России. In the article, the author considers the normative legal consolidation of the procedure for the implementation of general police functions by employees of the State Traffic Inspectorate, patrol and post service of the police, including in the field of road safety. The article provides statistical data that emphasize the relevance of the existing problem of delineating the powers of these services by federal legislation, by-laws and departmental orders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The author analyzes the judicial practice on the problem under study, and makes suggestions for amendments to the federal legislation. The provisions of the work can be used in the legislative activities of state bodies, law enforcement activities of law enforcement agencies, the educational process of educational organizations, scientific research of specialists on the problems of ensuring road safety, improving the branches of the Russian legal system. The novelty of the work is determined by the practical and scientific significance of the problems of law enforcement activities of law enforcement agencies in the field of road safety,as well as the need to improve the legal framework governing the powers of police units and services in Russia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-97
Author(s):  
Melis Aras

The energy transition in Europe requires not only the implementation of technological innovations to reduce carbon emissions but also the decentralised extension of these innovations throughout the continent, as demonstrated by the ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ package. However, decentralised energy generation, and specifically electricity generation, as it gives rise to new players and interactions, also requires a review of the energy planning process. In this sense, governance becomes the key concept for understanding the implementation of the energy transition in a territory. This is particularly visible in a cross-border setting, especially considering cross-border cooperation in the development of renewable energy sources (RES) provides the necessary elements to determine the criteria of local regulation between the different levels of governance. In light of the current legal framework in France, this paper presents the institutional framework of the multi-level governance of the RES development planning process. It concludes that it is quite conceivable for the rationales of governance at the local level (decentralisation) and the large-scale operation of a large interconnected network (Europeanisation) to coexist.


Robotica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 656-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Kamadan ◽  
Gullu Kiziltas ◽  
Volkan Patoglu

SummaryThis work presents a systematic design selection methodology that utilizes a co-design strategy for system-level optimization of compliantly actuated robots that are known for their advantages over robotic systems driven by rigid actuators. The introduced methodology facilitates a decision-making strategy that is instrumental in making selections among system-optimal robot designs actuated by various degrees of variable or fixed compliance. While the simultaneous co-design method that is utilized throughout guarantees systems performing at their full potential, a homotopy technique is used to maintain integrity via generation of a continuum of robot designs actuated with varying degrees of variable and fixed compliance. Fairness of the selection methodology is ensured via utilization of common underlying (variable) compliant actuation principle and dynamical task requirements throughout the generated system designs. The direct consequence of the developed methodology is that it allows robot designers make informed selections among a variety of systems which are guaranteed to perform at their best. Applicability of the introduced methodology has been validated using a case study for system-optimal design of an active knee prosthesis that is driven by a mechanically adjustable compliance and controllable equilibrium position actuator (MACCEPA) under a periodic/real-life dynamical task.


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