Securing Data Carriers Will Require Judicial Approval From 2025

In the justice sector, the year 2025 will bring about major changes in criminal law. The most prominent changes concern the regulations for securing data carriers such as mobile phones or laptops. These items must - with few exceptions - be confiscated in the future, for which a court approval is now required. In addition, the rights of the accused will be expanded.

New Rules for Securing Data Carriers from 2025

The confiscation of data carriers will in future be ordered by the public prosecutor's office on the basis of a court approval and carried out by the criminal police. Exceptions are made in cases of imminent danger, for example if data could otherwise be lost, or if it is only about "specific data" such as video recordings in a place or in front of a business. In these cases, the criminal police may also act on their own initiative and only have to apply for approval afterwards.

Otherwise, the court approval must precisely define which data categories and contents are to be confiscated and what period this covers. The public prosecutor's office then only receives an evaluation of the data based on these limits. Random finds are thus made more difficult, because the entire data stock can no longer be viewed. However, if such finds are made within the given framework that have nothing to do with the original suspicion, they can also be used by the public prosecutor's office.

Rights of Victims and Accused Strengthened

Apart from this, the rights of the accused and victims will also be strengthened in criminal proceedings. Both groups will have access to files from any activity of a law enforcement agency, and not only when formal investigation proceedings have been initiated. In addition, the accused will have the subjective right to request the separation of proceedings. Victims, on the other hand, can take action against the withdrawal of charges. Furthermore, the maximum duration of investigation proceedings will generally be reduced from three to two years - but extensions are still possible.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.