Judicial Cooperation Based On a European Evidence Warrant

The assurance of a better judicial cooperation between European Union Member States is aconstant preoccupation of the Council of Europe, taking into consideration that the European Union has setitself the objective of maintaining and developing an area of freedom, security and justice. The achievementof this objective is only possible if among EU Member States there is a high level of confidence and a mutualrecognition of the decisions issued by the competent judicial authorities. The European arrest warrant was thefirst concrete measure in the field of criminal law implementing the principle of mutual recognition which theEuropean Council referred to as cornerstone of judicial cooperation. It was followed by other measuresdesigned to create the legal framework of the judicial cooperation; some of these measures concerns the fightagainst corruption, terrorism, cross-border criminality, racism and xenophobia while others are applicable inany case, such as the order of freezing the property and the evidence. On 18 December 2008, a newinstrument was created in order to improve the judicial cooperation between the Member States: the Europeanevidence warrant. Its purpose is to assure the obtaining of the objects, documents and data which may be usedas evidence in proceedings in criminal matters in issuing State, from another Member State. So, the aim ofthis Framework Decision is to complete the provision of the Decision on the execution of orders freezingproperty and evidence which is not talking about the transfer of the evidence after the freezing.Romania, like the other European Union Member States must transpose the provision of this Decision in thenational law by 19 January 2011. That is why we would like to analyse the procedures and the safeguardsprovided by this Decision and to show the way we see the European evidence warrant settled in ourlegislation.