Faculty member addresses MEPs on e-evidence

 

A COMMITTEE of the European Parliament has heard evidence from Iain Mitchell, QC, about a proposed new regulation for the preservation and recovery of electronic evidence.

Mr Mitchell addressed MEPs as Chair of the Working Party on Surveillance of the Council of European Bars and Law Societies (CCBE).

The European Commission has drafted a regulation which would allow a judicial or investigating authority in one member state to serve an order on a service provider in another member state for the preservation and recovery of electronic evidence.

The CCBE opposes the draft which, it says, has no proper legal basis under EU Treaties. It also believes the draft infringes upon fundamental rights.

“I was pleased to have had the opportunity to place before the MEPs the very real concerns of lawyers throughout Europe about the lawfulness of the proposed measures,” said Mr Mitchell.

“They are concerns shared by civil society organisations and data protection authorities throughout the EU. It was encouraging that the MEPs really seemed to appreciate those concerns, and I’m hopeful that the European Parliament will address them.”

Mr Mitchell can be seen in a news report at https://www.euractiv.com/section/cybersecurity/video/the-security-of-european-citizens-what-role-for-e-evidence/

The evidence session is at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/committees/video?event=20181127-1430-COMMITTEE-LIBE