LAWYERS CALL FOR SAFEGUARDS IN EU INVESTIGATION SCHEME

LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 

A planned EU-wide scheme that will make it easier for the police forces of member states to share evidence in their fight against international crime could have ‘grave implications’ for civil liberties, lawyers have warned.

Jago Russell, chief executive of Fair Trials International, said: ‘The EIO has been pushed forward without debate at EU or domestic level. Even the most basic question – is this new law needed? – remains unanswered, with many EU countries, including the UK, saying the current system works well.

‘If we do not include safeguards in the legislation, we will be stuck with a justice measure which, like its predecessor, the European Arrest Warrant, which has seen citizens extradited for trivial and unproven offences, will result in serious cases of injustice and huge burdens on police time.’