A European preservation order for e-evidence : a novel procedure or a formalisation of current practice?

Abstract

This dissertation tackles the provisions pertaining to the preservation order in the EU’s draft regulation on production and preservation orders for e-evidence and how they stack up against the current laws and procedures for the preservation of e-evidence. E-evidence, as an intangible source, can be changed or made to disappear in an instant and thus the EU sought to legislate to allow for a faster procedure for the preservation of e-evidence. This paper aims at dissecting the provisions in the draft regulation in order to highlight the ways in which they differ from the current legislation, the legal innovations and novel procedures and the possible shortcomings and uncertainties that arise from this proposed form of MLA. Consequently, this paper raises a few human rights concerns that may arise from the EPOR and ways in which the regulation can co-exist, harmoniously, with human rights and work around such concerns without blatantly infringing on said rights. Thus keeping in mind the fundamentality of human rights in the European legal and social structure. Finally, this paper concludes by answering the question posed in the title, statinge-evidence regulation enforcement procedure whether the aims of the legislator were met and how, and by suggesting ways in which the regulation’s shortcomings may be improved upon. Therefore, this work aims to deliver a comprehensive take on the matter, delving into the many aspects of the preservation order as envisaged by the EU legislator in a concise and gripping manner.