On the last days of March 2023, a new round of Specialised Judicial Training on Electronic Evidence was delivered under the framework of the joint project of the European Union and of Council of Europe - iPROCEEDS-2, having as audience magistrates and Law Enforcement from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Maldives Islands, invited with support of the GLACY+ , a joint project of the EU and CoE.
Following the Council of Europe approach of providing support and guidance to criminal justice professionals in dealing with the electronic evidence, this course introduced the participants to the concepts and topics relating to cybercrime and electronic evidence and settled a solid base for future more advanced trainings.
The training focused on the terminology and the technical nature of digital evidence, its evidential value, the particularities of virtual crime scenes and practical measures during the investigation and prosecution phases on how to identify and handle electronic evidence in such ways that will ensure its authenticity for later admissibility in court.
The course was designed around a practical case scenario and gave attention to the admissibility of electronic evidence in an evidential hearing, how evidence is assessed, challenged and defended. The participants needed to take the perspectives of different parties involved in such a hearing.
The iPROCEEDS-2 project will continue to organise activities to raise the magistrates’ level of understanding the specifics of electronic evidence, in order to make their legal proposals and rulings more informed and sustainable.
iPROCEEDS-2 project webpage
GLACY+ project webpage
Cybercrime Programme Office (C-PROC) webpage
Electronic Evidence Guide (available upon request)