EncroChat, Sky ECC and Regulation (EU) 2023/1543: towards a new standards of digital evidence (I)
EncroChat, Sky ECC and Regulation (EU) 2023/1543: towards a new standards of digital evidence (I)

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the transformation of digital evidence in European criminal procedure through the lens of Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 on European Production and Preservation Orders. Building on the lessons of the EncroChat and Sky ECC investigations, it analyses how the Regulation redefines the principles of mutual recognition and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, replacing traditional mutual legal assistance with a direct framework linking judicial authorities and private service providers. The study highlights how the new regime introduces harmonised safeguards—necessity, proportionality, and judicial oversight—intended to reconcile investigatory efficiency with fundamental rights protection. Special attention is devoted to questions of transparency, defence rights, and the prospective admissibility of digital evidence under the Regulation’s standards. The paper further explores the implications for EU candidate countries, particularly Serbia, emphasizing the need to align domestic procedural law with the Union’s digital-evidence framework and to prevent the misuse of the concept of “mutual trust.” It concludes that the e-evidence package marks a decisive step toward a coherent, rights-based European model of digital proof and offers a normative blueprint for countries aspiring to integrate into the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice.

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