{"id":118277,"date":"2019-11-07T06:25:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T05:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/mejor-acceso-a-la-evidencia-electronica-para-combatir-el-crimen\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T13:12:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T11:12:56","slug":"mejor-acceso-a-la-evidencia-electronica-para-combatir-el-crimen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/blog\/mejor-acceso-a-la-evidencia-electronica-para-combatir-el-crimen\/","title":{"rendered":"Better access to electronic evidence to fight crime"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"col-md-9 council-center-content-basic council-flexify-item\">\n<div class=\"toggle-section content-toggle margin-top-30\">\n<div class=\"toggle-group\">\n<div class=\"toggle-heading\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Introduction<\/div>\n<div id=\"toggle-section-1\" class=\"toggle-body padding-bottom-0 \" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p>The <strong>digital revolution<\/strong> is redefining every aspect of society, and crime is no exception. More and more criminals use technology to plan and commit offences. As a result, authorities increasingly depend on electronic evidence to locate and convict offenders.<\/p>\n<p>However, obtaining access to electronic evidence can be <strong>a long and complicated matter,<\/strong> especially if the data is stored abroad. That is why, following calls from the European Council and the Council, the Commission proposed new rules in April 2018 to make it easier and faster for authorities to gain access to  <strong>electronic evidence <\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On this page you can find out more about:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>electronic evidence<\/li>\n<li>The problem with cross-border access<\/li>\n<li>the new rules proposed by the Commission<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is electronic evidence?<\/h2>\n<p>Electronic evidence, or &#8220;e-evidence&#8221;, refers to <strong>the digital data<\/strong> used to investigate and prosecute criminal offences.<\/p>\n<p>Among other things, it includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>emails<\/li>\n<li>text messages or content from messaging apps<\/li>\n<li>audiovisual content<\/li>\n<li>information about a user&#8217;s online account<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Such data can be used to identify a person or obtain more information about their activities.<\/p>\n<p>In the digital age, criminals increasingly use technological services and tools to plan and commit offences. As a result, electronic evidence is becoming essential to fighting crime: currently, <strong>85%<\/strong> of criminal investigations involve digital data.<\/p>\n<h2>The problem with cross-border access<\/h2>\n<p>Obtaining access to electronic evidence is not always a straightforward matter for authorities because it is often kept <strong>in another country<\/strong> . Online service providers store users&#8217; data on one or more servers that may be located in several countries, both inside and outside the EU.<\/p>\n<p>This makes it much harder for judicial authorities to gather electronic evidence, as they have to go through long and complicated procedures to obtain access to it.<\/p>\n<p>A cross-border request to obtain electronic evidence is made in <strong>more than 50%<\/strong> of all criminal investigations.<\/p>\n<h2>How the new rules will improve access to electronic evidence<\/h2>\n<p>The main objective of the new rules proposed by the Commission is <strong>to speed up access<\/strong> to electronic evidence kept in another member state.<\/p>\n<p>Under the Commission&#8217;s initial proposal, the new rules would allow the judicial authorities of one EU country <strong>to directly request access<\/strong> to electronic evidence from a service provider in another EU country.<\/p>\n<p>This would speed up the request for access, as it would no longer be necessary to go through the authorities of the other member state.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed rules consist of two legislative proposals:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>regulation<\/strong> on European production and preservation orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>directive<\/strong> laying down harmonised rules on the appointment of legal representatives for the purpose of gathering evidence in criminal proceedings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The new rules in detail<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>regulation on production and preservation orders<\/strong> for electronic evidence will allow authorities to access digital evidence stored by service providers regardless of where it is kept.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>production order <\/strong> will allow the judicial authority of one member state to directly request access to electronic evidence from a service provider in another member state. The service provider will have to respond within 10 days, or within 6 hours in the event of an emergency.<\/li>\n<li>The  <strong>preservation order <\/strong> will prevent a service provider from deleting the electronic evidence while the production order request is still being processed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The rules will be based on the existing principles of mutual recognition between member states. They will only apply to stored data, as real-time interception of telecommunications is not covered by the proposed rules.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>directive on legal representatives <\/strong> will oblige all service providers to designate a legal representative in the EU. The latter will be responsible for receiving and complying with decisions and orders. The aim is to ensure that all service providers operating in the EU have the same obligations with regard to electronic evidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clearfix\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"toggle-group\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div id=\"toggle-section-2\" class=\"toggle-body padding-bottom-0 pos-r\">\n<div id=\"timeline\">\n<div class=\"timeline-vertical\">\n<div class=\"timeline-item year\">\n<div class=\"timeline-point\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-year\">\n<h2 class=\"h3\">2019<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">6-14 June<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>The Council instructs the Commission to negotiate international agreements on electronic evidence<\/h3>\n<p>The Council adopted two mandates authorising the Commission to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>negotiate on behalf of the EU an agreement with the US to facilitate access to electronic evidence for the purpose of judicial cooperation in criminal matters<\/li>\n<li>take part in the negotiations in the Council of Europe on a second additional protocol to the Cybercrime Convention<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both would aim to facilitate access to electronic evidence, such as emails or documents located in the cloud, to be used in criminal proceedings. If concluded at a later stage, they will complement the EU framework on access to electronic evidence currently under discussion by the EU institutions, on which the Council adopted its position in December 2018 and March 2019.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"El Consejo da mandato a la Comisi\u00f3n para negociar acuerdos internacionales sobre pruebas electr\u00f3nicas en materia penal (comunicado de prensa, 06\/06\/2019)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2019\/06\/06\/council-gives-mandate-to-commission-to-negotiate-international-agreements-on-e-evidence-in-criminal-matters\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-1a936543-de1d3f76\">The Council gives the Commission a mandate to negotiate international agreements on electronic evidence in criminal matters (press release, 06\/06\/2019)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">8 March<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>The Council agrees its position on the rules for appointing legal representatives for the gathering of evidence<\/h3>\n<p>The Council reached its position on the directive on the appointment of legal representatives for the gathering of evidence in criminal proceedings. This directive will be an essential tool for the application of the future regulation on European production and preservation orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters, on which the Council adopted its position last December. It lays down the rules for the appointment of service providers&#8217; legal representatives, whose role is to receive and respond to such orders.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Paquete de evidencia electr\u00f3nica: el Consejo acuerda su posici\u00f3n sobre las reglas para designar representantes legales para la recolecci\u00f3n de evidencia (comunicado de prensa, 08\/03\/2019)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2019\/03\/08\/e-evidence-package-council-agrees-its-position-on-rules-to-appoint-legal-representatives-for-the-gathering-of-evidence\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-a1eccaa5-6d31c03a\">E-evidence package: the Council agrees its position on the rules for appointing legal representatives for the gathering of evidence (press release, 08\/03\/2019)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item year\">\n<div class=\"timeline-point\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-year\">\n<h2 class=\"h3\">2018<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">7 December<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Regulation on cross-border access to electronic evidence: the Council agrees its position<\/h3>\n<p>The Council agreed its position on the regulation on European production and preservation orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters. It is now ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament with the aim of reaching an agreement before the end of the parliamentary term.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Reglamento sobre el acceso transfronterizo a la evidencia electr\u00f3nica: el Consejo acuerda su posici\u00f3n (comunicado de prensa, 07\/12\/2018) \" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2018\/12\/07\/regulation-on-cross-border-access-to-e-evidence-council-agrees-its-position\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-cab50c99-c72c7ec8\">Regulation on cross-border access to electronic evidence: the Council agrees its position (press release, 07\/12\/2018)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">11 October<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Justice ministers discuss the regulation on European production and preservation orders<\/h3>\n<p>Justice ministers discussed the regulation on European production and preservation orders. Many member states were willing to find a compromise and discuss the inclusion of some kind of notification procedure. Work will continue at expert level to try to better define the possible main features of such a &#8220;notification&#8221;.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Consejo de Justicia y Asuntos de Interior, 11\/12\/10\/2018 \" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/meetings\/jha\/2018\/10\/11-12\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-aae7110-430cf3f5\">Justice and Home Affairs Council, 11\/12\/10\/2018<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">4 June<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>UNITED STATES CLOUD Act: ministers call for negotiations with the authorities<\/h3>\n<p>The Justice and Home Affairs ministers discussed the e-evidence package. With regard to the adoption of the United States CLOUD Act, the Council supported a common approach at EU level. It encouraged the Commission to continue its contacts with the US authorities and to urgently present a negotiating mandate.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Consejo de Justicia y Asuntos de Interior, 04-05 \/ 06\/2018 \" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/meetings\/jha\/2018\/06\/04-05\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-aae7110-b1b96242\">Justice and Home Affairs Council, 04-05 \/ 06\/2018<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">17 April<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>The Commission presents legislative proposals on electronic evidence<\/h3>\n<p>The European Commission presented a package of legislative proposals on electronic evidence:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>regulation<\/strong> on European production and preservation orders for electronic evidence in criminal matters.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>directive<\/strong> laying down harmonised rules on the appointment of legal representatives for the purpose of gathering evidence in criminal proceedings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Uni\u00f3n de la Seguridad: la Comisi\u00f3n facilita el acceso a la evidencia electr\u00f3nica (comunicado de prensa de la Comisi\u00f3n, 17\/04\/2018) \" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/policies\/e-evidence\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-ddfeec3e-4242fc8c\">Security Union: the Commission facilitates access to electronic evidence (Commission press release, 17\/04\/2018)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item year\">\n<div class=\"timeline-point\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-year\">\n<h2 class=\"h3\">2017<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">20 November<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Council conclusions call for a new legislative proposal<\/h3>\n<p>The Council adopted conclusions on the Commission&#8217;s communication on building strong cybersecurity for the EU. In its conclusions, the Council urged the Commission to present a legislative proposal in early 2018 to improve cross-border access to electronic evidence. It also asked the Commission to present a progress report by December 2017 on the implementation of practical measures to improve cross-border access to electronic evidence.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"link-pdf\" title=\"Documento PDF - Conclusiones sobre la comunicaci\u00f3n conjunta sobre la construcci\u00f3n de una ciberseguridad s\u00f3lida para la UE \" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/media\/31666\/st14435en17.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-di-id=\"di-id-6bbe89a8-c094b0df\">Conclusions on the joint communication on building strong cybersecurity for the EU <\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">23 June<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>EU leaders: access to electronic evidence is key to fighting terrorism<\/h3>\n<p>In its June 2017 conclusions, the European Council considered that effective access to electronic evidence was essential to combating serious crime and terrorism.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Conclusiones del Consejo Europeo, 22-23 \/ 06\/2017\" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2017\/06\/23\/euco-conclusions\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-7cbaf98f-bdfb4d63\">European Council conclusions, 22-23 \/ 06\/2017<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item year\">\n<div class=\"timeline-point\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-year\">\n<h2 class=\"h3\">2016<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">9 June<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>The Council adopts conclusions on improving criminal justice in cyberspace<\/h3>\n<p>The Council adopted conclusions on improving criminal justice in cyberspace. In its conclusions, the Council highlighted the ever-growing importance of electronic evidence in criminal proceedings across all types of crime, and in particular for terrorism. The conclusions set out concrete measures for future follow-up and action.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Lucha contra las actividades delictivas en el ciberespacio: el Consejo acuerda medidas pr\u00e1cticas y pr\u00f3ximos pasos (comunicado de prensa, 6\/9\/2016) \" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2016\/06\/09\/criminal-activities-cyberspace\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-403cba7f-f43444f5\">Fighting criminal activities in cyberspace: the Council agrees practical measures and next steps (press release, 6\/9\/2016)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timeline-item ceu\">\n<div class=\"history-content taxonomy-border-color\">\n<div class=\"timeline-date\">\n<p class=\"h2\">24 March<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Justice and Home Affairs ministers call for better access to electronic evidence after the Brussels attack<\/h3>\n<p>The Justice and Home Affairs ministers underlined the need to find ways to obtain digital evidence more quickly and effectively, in a joint statement issued two days after the terrorist attacks in Brussels.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"council-link-list padding-bottom-20\">\n<li><a class=\"\" title=\"Declaraci\u00f3n conjunta de los ministros de justicia y asuntos de interior de la UE, 24 de marzo de 2016\" href=\"https:\/\/www.consilium.europa.eu\/en\/press\/press-releases\/2016\/03\/24\/statement-on-terrorist-attacks-in-brussels-on-22-march\/\" data-di-id=\"di-id-e10d7807-3544f3f0\">Joint statement by the EU justice and home affairs ministers, 24 March 2016<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-md-9 council-center-content-basic council-flexify-item\">\n<div class=\"clearfix\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><\/div>\n<aside class=\"well\">\n<h2 class=\"h4\" style=\"text-align: left;\">See also<\/h2>\n<div class=\"table-display\">\n<ul class=\"council-link-list table-cell-display vertical-top\">\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><a class=\"link-pdf\" title=\"Documento PDF - Hoja informativa sobre la facilitaci\u00f3n del acceso a la evidencia electr\u00f3nica (Comisi\u00f3n Europea)\" href=\"http:\/\/europa.eu\/rapid\/attachment\/MEMO-18-3345\/en\/Factsheet%20E-evidence.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-di-id=\"di-id-e502e47b-9dabec2e\">Factsheet on facilitating access to electronic evidence (European Commission)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction The digital revolution is redefining every aspect of society, and crime is no exception. More and more criminals use technology to plan and commit offences. As a result, authorities increasingly depend on electronic evidence to locate and convict offenders. However, obtaining access to electronic evidence can be a long and complicated matter, especially if [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_cea_women":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1110],"tags":[],"cea_women":[],"class_list":["post-118277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119202,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118277\/revisions\/119202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118277"},{"taxonomy":"cea_women","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceadigilaw.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cea_women?post=118277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}