The e-Evidence Digital Exchange System (eEDES) is provided by the European Commission to support Member States in managing the European Investigation Order (EIO) and Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) procedures on European level. Relying on eEDES, it is possible for the judicial professionals to prepare EIO/MLA forms in a digital way and send them as a message, as well as to attach documents to each message.
The purpose of the event was to present the audience with the latest developments of the eEDES and its front-end Reference Implementation Portal and where it stands with regards to the ongoing work on the digitalisation of cross-border judicial cooperation procedures. Furthermore, possible approaches towards the adoption of the system are to be shared with the audience deriving from the real-life experience of some piloting Member States.
Contextualizing on the use of eEDES, the TREIO Project has developed a Reference Training Framework on the European Investigation Order implementation. TREIO tools, offered in several languages, include
- a comprehensive set of training materials that could be tailored to both professionals seeking in-depth training on EIO and professionals with extensive day-to-day experience in this judicial cooperation instrument
- guidelines to each training session providing suggestions for carrying out the training, detailed information and additional references on the content covered and hands-on activities to activate learning on the eEDES
- self-paced e-learning course based on TREIO training materials and providing for real-time training modalities via the eEDES Simulator
- an eEDES Simulator of the EIO business flow (with customized auto-responder) and a full e-CODEX infrastructure to provide realistic message flows among trainees.
The event aimed to bring together decision-making professionals from central authorities, courts and prosecutor’s offices responsible for the European Investigation Orders (EIO) implementation on Member State level, high-ranking officials, project managers and heads of IT departments supporting them in the process, as well as officials responsible for the organizational and/or training aspects of eEDES launch on national level, to collectively share knowledge and experience and discuss recommended ways forward on the EU-wide application of the existing supporting tools.
Summary of Outcomes
The speakers delivered presentations on: eEDES, its benefits for practitioners and future developments with regards to the ongoing digitalization of cross-border judicial cooperation procedures; MS approaches towards adopting eEDES; and the TREIO tools on EIO implementation and use of eEDES (reference training framework, e-learning courses developed, TREIO eEDES Simulator, and transferability guidelines).
109 participants registered for the event. The preliminary questions, as listed in the registration forms, again guided the discussions, and served to guide the project team on the varying interested of the TREIO target groups:
- up-to-date information on EIO implementation and tools supporting the exchanges for professionals working with EIO on a daily basis
- eEDES [overall implementation and business processes], deadlines for national implementation and the [varying] piloting possibilities
- practical issues concerning eEDES, including embedded machine translation as a way to accelerate cooperation between authorities (advantages, disadvantages, legal possibilities and restrictions in countries joining eEDES), forwarding EIO to several national authorities in eEDES (problems and ways to solve them), etc.
- [listing] competent authorities responsible for exchanging real EIOs, MLA requests and ITNs, and possibilities for law enforcement and other non-judicial authorities to access/use eEDES
- best methods for training on eEDES (e-learning, instructor-led on-site / online learning, etc.)
- TREIO tools and modalities of implementation, including possibilities of MS involvement in TREIO if they are not yet part of the project (and participating in trainings delivered by TREIO).
A total of 91 professionals took part.
Agenda / Presentations
| Time | Activity |
| 09.45 – 10.00 | Registration |
| 10.00 – 10.10 |
Welcome address Dr Maria Angela Biasiotti, Researcher, Institute of Legal Informatics and Judicial Systems at the National Research Council, Italy Cristian Nicolau, Head of Unit eJustice, IT and Document Management, DG Justice and Consumers, European Commission |
| 10.10 – 10.50 |
Cristian Nicolau, Head of Unit eJustice, IT and Document Management, DG Justice and Consumers, European Commission Discussion |
| 10.50 - 11.10 |
MS approaches towards adopting eEDES (part 1) Elena Moreno, Systems Engineer - ISDEFE, Ministry of Justice of Spain [Presentation] |
| 11.10 – 11.15 | Short comfort break |
| 11.15 – 11.55 |
MS approaches towards adopting eEDES (part 2) Mathias Maurer, IT Consultant, Austrian Federal Computing Center Carlos Pinho, Prosecutor, Information Systems and Technology Department (DTSI) to the Portuguese General Prosecutors Office |
| 11.55 – 12.50 |
TREIO tools on EIO implementation and use of eEDES Prof Jeanne Mifsud Bonnici, University of Groningen, the Netherlands Dr Georgina Humphries, European Cybercrime Training and Education Group
(ECTEG), Belgium Dr Ioannis (Ion) Pagkalos, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Dr Maria Angela Biasiotti, Researcher, Institute of Legal Informatics and Judicial Systems at the National Research Council, Italy |
| 12.50 – 13.00 | Wrap-up and concluding remarks |
Registration
Registration is now closed. In case you have questions about the the event, you can get in contact with us via office@treio.eu.