The Court of Justice in Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin v. M.N. (EncroChat): From cross-border, data-driven police investigations to evidence admissibility
| Published date | 01 August 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X241290365 |
| Author | Athina Sachoulidou |
| Date | 01 August 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
The Court of Justice in
Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin v. M.N.
(EncroChat): From
cross-border, data-driven
police investigations to
evidence admissibility
Athina Sachoulidou*
Abstract
The ruling of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) in Case C-670/22
Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin v. M.N. addresses the realities of data-driven police investigations in the
light of the Directive 2014/41/EU on the European Investigation Order (EIO Directive). In particular,
it examines the cross-border, digital investigation of the encrypted communication network
EncroChat and the use and sharing of intercepted telecommunication data in criminal proceedings.
In doing so, the CJEU offers clarifications as to the interpretation of the term ‘issuing authority’
under the EIO Directive and the proportionality requirements for issuing an EIO, taking into account
its prior jurisprudence on the implications of access to traffic and location data for the private life of
the persons concerned. More importantly, this CJEU ruling takes a stand on admissibility of inter-
cepted data as evidence in criminal proceedings, considering the technical complexity of contempor-
ary investigation measures and the secrecy of said police methods. Overall, although this judgment
seems to hold no great surprises regarding the interpretation of the EIO Directive’s provisions, it
underscores the important role of the national legislator and national courts in striking the right bal-
ance between rearing the rewards of data-driven policing and safeguarding defence rights.
Keywords
EncroChat, data-driven police investigations, European Investigation Order, evidence admissibility,
fair trial, defence rights
*Assistant Professor in Criminal Law, School of Law, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Corresponding author:
Athina Sachoulidou, Assistant Professor in Criminal Law, School of Law, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
Panepistimioupoli, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece.
Email: sachoulidou@law.auth.gr
Case Note
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
2024, Vol. 31(4) 510–520
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1023263X241290365
maastrichtjournal.sagepub.com
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