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(Luxembourg, 28 June 2024) – The seizure, processing and analysis of electronic data are of paramount importance for any criminal investigation and prosecution.
The European Chief Prosecutor has duly noted that on 14 June 2024, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Austria proposed an amendment to the code of criminal procedure regulating the seizure of data and data storage devices, following a ruling by the Austrian Constitutional Court on 14 December 2023.
Based on a preliminary analysis of the draft law, the European Chief Prosecutor is assessing whether some of the proposed provisions would be contrary to the EPPO Regulation, and could have a negative impact on the independence, effectiveness and expediency of EPPO investigations in Austria, as well as on cross-border investigations involving Austria.
The main point of concern is that under the EPPO Regulation, European Delegated Prosecutors must be able to undertake investigative measures themselves, or to instruct the competent national authorities. If the seizure and analysis of data and data storage devices become the prerogative of the police, this will no longer be the case. Under the EPPO Regulation, Austria must ensure, for offences with a maximum penalty of at least 4 years of imprisonment, that European Delegated Prosecutors themselves can order searches of computer systems, as well as obtain the production of stored computer data in their original or other specified form, or request such investigative measures from the court.
The European Chief Prosecutor would like to emphasise once more that as serious financial criminality is transnational by nature, the work of European Delegated Prosecutors in Austria is not limited to cases that they bring to court in Austria. Their work is of crucial importance to many investigations directed by the EPPO from other Member States. The EPPO works as a single office in 22 Member States, which constitute the ‘EPPO zone’. The proposed changes to the code of criminal procedure in Austria would thus affect the whole EPPO zone.
In this context, the European Chief Prosecutor welcomes the decision to give enough time to analyse the draft law.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.