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PRESS RELEASE No 77/24

Luxembourg, 30 April 2024

Judgment of the Court in Case C-670/22 | M.N. (EncroChat)

EncroChat: the Court of Justice clarifies the conditions for the transmission and use of evidence in criminal cases with a cross-border dimension

In the context of criminal proceedings in Germany concerning illegal drug trafficking involving the use of the encrypted telecommunications service EncroChat, the Court of Justice clarifies certain conditions for the transmission and use of evidence under the Directive regarding the European Investigation Order (EIO) in criminal matters.

Thus, an EIO for the transmission of evidence already gathered by another Member State may, under certain conditions, be issued by a public prosecutor. The conditions applicable to the gathering of evidence in the issuing State do not need to have been satisfied in order for the EIO to be issued. It must, however, be possible for compliance with the fundamental rights of the persons concerned to be judicially reviewed subsequently. Moreover, an interception measure carried out by one Member State on the territory of another Member State must be notified in good time to that other Member State. The criminal courts must, under certain conditions, disregard evidence when the person concerned is not in a position to comment on that evidence. (...)