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Project
Modernising Codes of Criminal Procedure on digital investigative methods: combining the languages of criminal procedural law, data protection law and European human rights law (FWOAL1089)
The Digital Era brought about rapid changes to both the ways how
crime is being committed and the nature of criminal investigations
and proceedings. While cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime is on
the rise, the law enforcement authorities move away from traditional
investigative methods. They become tech-savvy and apply digital
investigatory measures - searches of publicly available information
online, issuing production orders to service providers, carrying out
undercover digital investigations, performing ‘lawful hacking’, or using
Big Data analytics and Artificial Intelligence, finding patterns in large
datasets. However, the shift towards intelligence-led investigations is
not accompanied with reforms of criminal investigations and
proceedings. Digital investigatory measures therefore often appear
un- or under-regulated. At the same time, data protection rules for
law enforcement in the Digital Era have been harmonised on the EU
level, through the transposition of the Law Enforcement Directive
2016/680. On the one hand, this Directive was criticised for not
engaging enough with criminal procedural law and ignoring its
particularities. On the other hand, the Directive was adopted too early
to incorporate ground-breaking law enforcement and surveillance
case law of Luxembourg and Strasbourg courts. This project is taking
a constructive reformist’s perspective with the aim to create a
dialogue between criminal procedural law, data protection law and
European human rights law.
crime is being committed and the nature of criminal investigations
and proceedings. While cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime is on
the rise, the law enforcement authorities move away from traditional
investigative methods. They become tech-savvy and apply digital
investigatory measures - searches of publicly available information
online, issuing production orders to service providers, carrying out
undercover digital investigations, performing ‘lawful hacking’, or using
Big Data analytics and Artificial Intelligence, finding patterns in large
datasets. However, the shift towards intelligence-led investigations is
not accompanied with reforms of criminal investigations and
proceedings. Digital investigatory measures therefore often appear
un- or under-regulated. At the same time, data protection rules for
law enforcement in the Digital Era have been harmonised on the EU
level, through the transposition of the Law Enforcement Directive
2016/680. On the one hand, this Directive was criticised for not
engaging enough with criminal procedural law and ignoring its
particularities. On the other hand, the Directive was adopted too early
to incorporate ground-breaking law enforcement and surveillance
case law of Luxembourg and Strasbourg courts. This project is taking
a constructive reformist’s perspective with the aim to create a
dialogue between criminal procedural law, data protection law and
European human rights law.
Date:1 Jan 2023 → Today
Keywords:criminal proceedings, data protection, human rights
Disciplines:Comparative law, Criminal law, European law, Human rights law