Digitalisation profoundly affects the criminal justice field, acting as both a catalyst of cross-border criminal activity and an effective tool to fight organised crime. In recent years, the European Union has taken steps to modernise the information systems used by law enforcement officials in the respective Member States, to better enable cross-border cooperation in criminal cases. In particular, EU law enforcement authorities, including Europol, eu-LISA and Frontex, are equipped with state-of-the-art digital (ICT) tools for gathering and sharing information, and can exchange and process operational data in a structured, encrypted, fully automated and interoperable way.
In contrast, judicial practitioners in the Member States, as well as Eurojust and other JHA agencies, often lack appropriate tools to tackle serious cross-border crime and enhance cooperation among involved authorities. In particular, the lack of a structured and integrated information system to support operational exchanges of crucial information and evidence during cases requires practitioners to find workarounds based on cumbersome manual procedures. At Eurojust, such limitations slow down efforts to provide the level of service national authorities require in cross-border investigations.
Making the case for Digital Criminal Justice
In December 2018, Eurojust presented a note to the Council of the European Union outlining the need for a standardised set of digital tools to support efficient interaction and judicial cooperation within the European Union. These tools would incorporate the latest information technologies within a reliable and secure centralised IT infrastructure, known as Digital Criminal Justice (DCJ).
In addition to enhancing communication and data exchanges, an EU-wide Digital Criminal Justice platform would enable judicial practitioners to act swiftly and decisively during time-sensitive investigations; for example, by quickly issuing and responding to mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests and other legal instruments.
In July 2019, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, with the support of Eurojust and other stakeholders, initiated a study to further discuss, develop and implement the Digital Criminal Justice concept. Specifically, the study seeks to better understand the business needs of the judicial community working on cross-border criminal cases, and assess how these needs could be met by the proposed technological solutions.