European Anti-Fraud Office (Books and Journals)
- Annual Report of the European Anti-Fraud Office From No. 2002, January 2002 to No. 2022, January 2022 European Anti-Fraud Office, 2023
- Eucrim. European Law Forum: Prevention. Investigation. Prosecution From No. 3/2008, September 2008 to No. 2/2023, October 2023 European Anti-Fraud Office, 2023
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Preuves électroniques : état de la situation en Suisse face à l’avancée majeure du droit européen
This contribution is a comparison of the solution adopted in the European Union (EU) concerning cross-border access to electronic evidence and the Swiss law applicable in this area, based on a number of key features of the European system. It gives rise to a reflection on the prospects for relations between the European Union and Switzerland, in particular the opportunity for Switzerland to...
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Mutual Admissibility of Evidence and Electronic Evidence in the EU
A New Try for European Minimum Rules in Criminal Proceedings?
This article seeks to provide arguments in support of legislative action on mutual admissibility of evidence and electronic evidence in criminal proceedings at the EU level. To this end, it will first describe the status quo and then the main features of a corresponding proposal recently tabled by the European Law Institute. In the light of this proposal, the author explains why Member States...
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Gathering Electronic Evidence for Administrative Investigations
Exploring an Under-the-Radar Area
The intense debate over the past few years on access to data for criminal investigations has led to the adoption of the E-evidence package. Yet, electronic evidence is no less crucial for punitive administrative proceedings. One administrative investigation authority that could benefit from more extensive access to electronic evidence is OLAF, which, at this point, does not seem to have the power
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The Use of Electronic Evidence in the European Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice
An Introduction to the New EU Package on E-evidence
Digital technologies have advanced more rapidly than any other innovation in modern history and they permeate our daily lives. The benefits to our societies and economies are numerous, but the risks of cyberattacks and crime have also increased. The EU is committed to protecting its citizens against these risks in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Prevention, detection, and enforcement...
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The E-evidence Package
The Happy Ending of a Long Negotiation Saga
The following article gives an overview of the long internal negotiations on the EU legal instruments aiming at improving cross-border access to e-evidence in judicial proceedings (the so-called e-evidence package), which have finally been concluded. It outlines the main challenges met during the negotiations and how they were overcome to reach a compromise which has become subject to political...
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Remote Biometric Identification and Emotion Recognition in the Context of Law Enforcement
From the AI Regulation Proposed by the Commission to the EU Co-Legislators’ Positions
In April 2021, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a Regulation to harmonise rules on artificial intelligence (AI) across the EU, including AI in the context of law enforcement. Its horizontal character raised concerns in the police community, prompting a response by some Member States arguing for a separate legal act on the use of AI by law enforcement agencies. Two controversial...
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Critical Issues in the New EU Regulation on Electronic Evidence in Criminal Proceedings
The new EU Regulation on electronic evidence in criminal proceedings not only aims to enhance cross-border access to electronic evidence but also raises concerns regarding privacy, fundamental rights, and accountability. This article focuses on three key issues. First, it is argued that the establishment of a direct cooperation framework between the issuing state and private service providers...
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Electronic Evidence Collection in Cases of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office
Legal Framework, Procedures, and Specifics
Electronic evidence (e-evidence) is necessary and relevant with regard to many cases of serious, organised, or cross-border crime. This is also true for cases investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). This article outlines the current legal framework, procedures, and mechanisms available to the EPPO for the collection of e-evidence in different case scenarios. It also takes...
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Die Regulierung des (grenzüberschreitenden) Zugangs zu elektronischen Beweismitteln
Aktuelle nationale, europa- und völkerrechtliche Entwicklungen
This article provides an overview of current national, European, and international legal efforts to regulate cross-border access to electronic evidence. At the level of the EU, it was recently decided to harmonise the legal systems of the Member States by means of regulations and directives, which is to be flanked by an agreement between the EU and the USA in the future. In addition, there are...
- Guest editorial eucrim 2-2023
- Guest editorial eucrim 1-2023
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Efficiency contra legem?
Remarks on the Advocate General’s Opinion Delivered on 22 June 2023 in Case C-281/22 G.K. and Others (Parquet européen)
The first preliminary ruling request concerning the EPPO Regulation raises several interesting questions regarding the interpretation of its Art. 31 on cross-border investigations. Advocate General Ćapeta presented her Opinion and proposals to the Court of Justice of the European Union on 22 June 2023. Her analysis shows the difficulties that the Court will presumably face when trying to find...
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“Error 404 – Match not found”
In EU Member States, tax administrations are the public organs that make most use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems to perform State prerogatives. At least 18 EU Member States frequently use AI tax enforcement systems. In certain areas of taxation, such as value-added tax, AI and ML are already used throughout the EU. These systems perform a relatively broad range...
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Artificial Intelligence in Law Enforcement Settings
With the rise and spread of ICT-enabled crimes and illicit money flows (IMFs), law enforcement authorities and financial intelligence units need innovative investigative tools and skills, and organisational and regulatory adjustments to counter crime. The multi-disciplinary TRACE project is developing AI solutions to identify, track, and document IMFs to pave the way for effectively prosecuting...
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Why a Human Court?
For centuries, “doing justice” has been a fundamentally anthropocentric effort: Humankind has been placed at the centre of emerging paradigms and systems such as (quite self-evidently) human rights, constitutionalism, and – gradually – also international law. In addition to focusing adjudication on individuals and their litigated interests, this has meant an administration of justice taking the...
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Non-Conviction Based Forfeiture in Canada: The Example of Three Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Clubhouses
A 2023 non-conviction based (NCB) forfeiture order was recently issued against three clubhouses in Canada. Each served as the chapter headquarters for an outlaw motorcycle gang. Clubhouses form the base of operations for their organized criminal activities. The protracted litigation started in 2007, and a Canadian appellate court found in February 2023 that the clubhouses were forfeitable as...
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Digital Iatrogenesis
Limitations associated with online regulatory frameworks can be better understood by integrating pertinent insights from medicine and theoretical biology. Using insights from the biopsychosocial model, we argue that contemporary Internet regulations are problematic for three reasons. First, they pay insufficient attention to the unique structural characteristics of our digital media ecology,...
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“Legalize It!?” – Opportunities and Challenges for the Regulation of Cannabis under European Law
Following similar developments in other parts of the world (e.g. Uruguay, Canada, United States, Thailand), several countries in the EU are questioning or openly challenging the prohibitionist paradigm that has so far dominated international drug control law. Possibly the most far-reaching approach is contained in the concept paper (Eckpunktepapier) adopted by the German Federal Government in...
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Limitations of the Transnational ne bis in idem Principle in EU Law
The ne bis in idem principle is one of the most fundamental guarantees in criminal procedure law. It prohibits a second prosecution in cases that have already been concluded by a final decision. According to the traditional understanding, the principle excludes a duplication of proceedings only within the same jurisdiction. Art. 50 CFR, however, which was incorporated into primary EU law by Art. 6
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Using US Artificial Intelligence to Fight Human Trafficking in Europe
Human trafficking is keeping pace with new technologies, but so is its repression. Nowadays, artificial intelligence (AI) systems support the daily work of law enforcement authorities in detecting and investigating trafficking schemes. These systems were developed, and are used primarily, in the United States of America (US). As the fight against human trafficking is a worldwide priority, they...
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Criminal and Administrative Procedures in Protecting the Financial Interests of the EU
This article argues that, with the establishment of the EPPO, the European Union intended to pursue, through the integration of procedural powers vested within the EPPO and OLAF, the creation of an “end-to-end” prosecution cycle that is able to seek both criminal penalties and administrative/financial sanctions, such as asset forfeiture and the restoration of damages caused by violations and...
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The Conflict of Competence between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Spanish Prosecutors – Lessons Learned
The rules on the exercise of competence by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office have been discussed by several authors. It has been put forward that the way in which material competence is regulated is highly complex; as is the division of competences between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and national authorities. In addition to jeopardising legal certainty, this poses a major...
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Disciplinary Sanctions against Judges: Punitive but not Criminal for the Strasbourg Court
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) sought to extend the guarantees for criminal procedure enshrined in Art. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to administrative offences which are criminal in nature when it established the Engel criteria. It aimed to prevent that the states circumvent criminal procedure safeguards by simply labelling such offences as administrative....
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Yachts and Airplanes: What Procedures and Legal Theories Are Being Used to Forfeit Russian Assets in the United States?
For the past year – since the Russian invasion of Ukraine – there has been a great deal of interest in the seizure and forfeiture of the assets of the Russian oligarchs who have become subject to international economic sanctions. Different countries have taken different approaches: Some have merely been freezing the assets of sanctioned persons based on statutory authority to restrain their...
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The EPPO Faces its First Important Test: A Brief Analysis of the Request for a Preliminary Ruling in G. K. and Others
The article analyses the first question referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling in a case concerning the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). It involves the interpretation of a key provision regarding the investigations of this new office, i.e. Art. 31 of Council Regulation EU 2017/1939. This provision governs investigative measures that need to be...
- Guest editorial eucrim 4-2022
- Editorial eucrim 3-2022
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The Players in the Protection of the EU’s Financial Interests
Cooperation between authorities conducting administrative investigations and those conducting criminal investigations at both the EU and Member State levels is essential to ensure a high level of protection in view of the EU's financial interests. However, the legal framework governing the role and competences of individual authorities at the EU level seems much clearer than the corresponding...
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Use of Administrative Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in Austria
The admissibility of evidence from other proceedings in criminal proceedings is a challenge for the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure. This is due to the fact that existing provisions first deal with the admissibility of evidence obtained according to the rules of the Austrian Code of Criminal Procedure but hardly regulate the admissibility of evidence collected in accordance with other...
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Every Euro Counts ... and So Does Every Second
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), operational since 1 June 2021, has not just been established to bring the perpetrators of EU fraud to justice but also to help recover the criminal profits they have acquired in the process. Thus, its raison d’être not only matches the traditional political axiom that crime does not pay but equally serves another goal formulated by European...