The European Investigation Order: Changing the Face of Evidence-Gathering in EU Cross-Border Cases
| Author | Daniel Mansell,Catherine Heard |
| Published date | 01 December 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1177/203228441100200402 |
| Date | 01 December 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Analysis and Opinions |
New Journal of Eur opean Crimina l Law, Vol. 2, Issue 4, 2011 353
ANALYSIS AND OPINIONS
THE EUROPEAN INVESTIGATION ORDER:
CHANGING THE FACE OF EVIDENCE-
GATHERING IN EU CROSS-BORDER CASES
C H and D M*
ABSTRACT
is article examine s the controversial European Investigation Orde r – a Belgium-led
Member States’ legislative initiative whereby a s ingle “mutual recognition” style
instrument will repl ace the existing “mut ual legal assistan ce” regime for cross-border
evidence-shar ing in EU Member States. e articl e charts the dicult negotiat ions on
the text so far and details the s afeguards still needed if this Directive is to oe r adequate
protection for fundamental r ights. More fundamentally, the article ask s whether a “one-
size ts all” approach to c ross-border investigations and e vidence-sharing ma kes sense
in the absence of harmonized , coherent rules on a dmissibility, data protection and
investigative procedures in an EU where equality of ar ms is not a feature of many legal
systems.
Keywords: cross-border evidence sharing; Europea n Investigation Order; mutual
recognition
1. EVIDENCESHARING AND MUTUAL RECOGNITION
In the ght against international crime, few weapons are more valuable than the
ability for law enforcement agencies to share evidence with each other quickly and
with mini mum fuss. is is particu larly important in the EU, where the relaxation of
national borders has increased t he risk of criminals evading justice by moving
between countries. is theme of enhanced cooperat ion in the eld of evidence-
* Catherine Hea rd is the Head of Polic y and Daniel Ma nsell the Polic y Ocer for Fair Tria ls
Internationa l (“FTI”), a charity that camp aigns on behalf of those fac ing trial in a country ot her
than thei r own.
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