Cuardaigh
Revising the Taking of Evidence Regulation
On 31 May 2018, the Commission proposed a proposal for a new regulation on taking of evidence in civil proceedings. It takes stock of the existing regulation (from 2001), but provides for a number of changes to remove legal uncertainty and to promote electronic communications. Parliament adopted its legislative resolution on the proposal on 13 February 2019. The main points of Parliament's position include modifying the definition of the term 'court', to mean any authority in a Member State that ...
European production and preservation orders and the appointment of legal representatives for gathering electronic evidence
The IA provides a comprehensive description of the problem and the options are clearly linked to the objectives and the problem definition. It would have benefited the analysis if coherence and complementarity between this initiative and other proposed EU legislation would have been further explained. Moreover, stakeholders’ views are mentioned in a rather general way throughout the IA report and also, the problem drivers are not evenly discussed. It is to be noted that the proposed Regulation does ...
Civil Judicial Experts in Cross-Border Litigation: The Common Law Perspective
ÀUpon request by the JURI Committee, this in-depth analysis examines the use of expert witness evidence and testimony in cross border legal actions and the comparison of the differing systems of law in which such litigation might take place. It further analyses how the common law system has successfully evolved to facilitate the employment of civil expert witnesses across the Member States of the European Union.
Civil Judicial Expertise in the EU: Analysis of EU Legislation and Recommendations
Upon request by the JURI Committee, this study provides an analysis of existing EU legislation applicable to judicial expertise for the purpose of assessing whether cross-border expertise in the EU is hampered or restricted, and whether steps could be taken to facilitate it and to further develop a genuine European area of civil justice. It concludes that, while existing EU law is largely satisfactory, there are still major issues, and that EU action would be necessary to address them.
National Security and Secret Evidence in Legislation and before the Courts: Exploring the Challenges
At the request of the LIBE committee, this study provides a comparative analysis of the national legal regimes and practices governing the use of intelligence information as evidence in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. It explores notably how national security can be invoked to determine the classification of information and evidence as 'state secrets' in court proceedings and whether such laws and practices are fundamental rights- and rule of law-compliant ...
The European Investigation Order
The proposed directive on the European Investigation Order is aimed at setting up a comprehensive system for obtaining evidence in criminal cases with a cross-border dimension. Whereas this mutual recognition instrument is supposed to facilitate much greater cooperation across the EU, it also raises concerns over the protection of fundamental rights.
Parliamentary committees of inquiry in national systems: a comparative survey of EU Member States
This paper provides an update and extension of a 2007 overview of national provisions for parliamentary committees of inquiry. It concentrates on the legal framework in which these committees operate and the limits and responsibilities under which they carry out their investigations.