Today the European Commission has launched a public consultation to identify ways to improve access to electronic evidence for the purpose of criminal investigations.

Nowadays, crime very often leaves digital traces that can serve as evidence in criminal proceedings. For most forms of crimes, in particular cybercrimes, electronic evidence can provide significant leads for investigators, and often the only leads. But gathering evidence in cyberspace also brings new challenges for law enforcement and judicial authorities. In particular, because of the cross-border implications: the information may be stored in other countries or may be processed by companies that have headquarters in different countries to the investigating law enforcement and judicial authorities. Present-day solutions often prove unsatisfactory and can even bring investigations to a halt.

Vera Jourová , Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, said: "Although the majority of the population enjoys the benefits of the digital age without coming into conflict with the law, criminals use digital tools for their purposes too. We have a strong political mandate from the Member States to tackle obstacles to accessing electronic evidence relevant for criminal investigations. I want to use the consultation to identify the most useful European approach – one which will give our practitioners effective tools and increase legal certainty, thus reinforcing fundamental rights."

With this public consultation the Commission wants to gather input from a broad range of interested stakeholders including: law enforcement authorities, judges, prosecutors, EU institutions and agencies, international organisations, private companies (in particular digital service providers), professional and business associations, civil society, academics and the general public.

The public consultation will run from 4 August until 27 October and is available here.