As the e-Evidence Directive - the first part of the dedicated European package (see EUROPE 13074/15) - enters into force on Wednesday 18 February, the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) is publishing a report following its meeting devoted to preparing the regulation on European orders for providing and preserving electronic evidence (e-Evidence Regulation), which is scheduled to come into force on 18 August.
As of 18 February, service providers offering their services in the EU must have appointed a representative in a Member State, which is necessary before the regulation becomes fully applicable on 18 August 2026.
The regulation will also introduce the European Production Order (EPOC) and the European Preservation Order (EPOC-PR), which will enable a judicial authority to send an order to provide or preserve data directly to a service provider established in another Member State, using the decentralised JUDEX IT system.
According to the report, a number of issues need to be taken into consideration, such as the diversity of national models for designating competent authorities, the impact of notifications on deadlines, managing privileges and immunities, coordinating other international instruments and the technical constraints raised by service providers.
Eurojust is thus positioning itself as a source of support to national authorities in order to assist practitioners and encourage cross-border cooperation and dialogue with service providers.
The report: https://aeur.eu/f/ksg (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)