Directive 2014/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER I THE EUROPEAN INVESTIGATION ORDER

Article 1 The European Investigation Order and obligation to execute it

1. A European Investigation Order (EIO) is a judicial decision which has been issued or validated by a judicial authority of a Member State (‘OGthe issuing State’) to have one or several specific investigative measure(s) carried out in another Member State (‘the executing State’) to obtain evidence in accordance with this Directive.

The EIO may also be issued for obtaining evidence that is already in the possession of the competent authorities of the executing State.

2. Member States shall execute an EIO on the basis of the principle of mutual recognition and in accordance with this Directive.

3. The issuing of an EIO may be requested by a suspected or accused person, or by a lawyer on his behalf, within the framework of applicable defence rights in conformity with national criminal procedure.

4. This Directive shall not have the effect of modifying the obligation to respect the fundamental rights and legal principles as enshrined in Article 6 of the TEU, including the rights of defence of persons subject to criminal proceedings, and any obligations incumbent on judicial authorities in this respect shall remain unaffected.

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive the following definitions apply:

(a)

‘issuing State’ means the Member State in which the EIO is issued;

(b)

‘executing State’ means the Member State executing the EIO, in which the investigative measure is to be carried out;

(c)

‘issuing authority’ means:

(i)

a judge, a court, an investigating judge or a public prosecutor competent in the case concerned; or

(ii)

any other competent authority as defined by the issuing State which, in the specific case, is acting in its capacity as an investigating authority in criminal proceedings with competence to order the gathering of evidence in accordance with national law. In addition, before it is transmitted to the executing authority the EIO shall be validated, after examination of its conformity with the conditions for issuing an EIO under this Directive, in particular the conditions set out in Article 6.1, by a judge, court, investigating judge or a public prosecutor in the issuing State. Where the EIO has been validated by a judicial authority, that authority may also be regarded as an issuing authority for the purposes of transmission of the EIO;

(d)

‘executing authority’ means an authority having competence to recognise an EIO and ensure its execution in accordance with this Directive and the procedures applicable in a similar domestic case. Such procedures may require a court authorisation in the executing State where provided by its national law.

Article 3 Scope of the EIO

The EIO shall cover any investigative measure with the exception of the setting up of a joint investigation team and the gathering of evidence within such a team as provided in Article 13 of the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union(1) (‘the Convention’) and in Council Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA(2), other than for the purposes of applying, respectively, Article 13(8) of the Convention and Article 1(8) of the Framework Decision.

Article 4 Types of proceedings for which the EIO can be issued

An EIO may be issued:

(a)

with respect to criminal proceedings that are brought by, or that may be brought before, a judicial authority in respect of a criminal offence under the national law of the issuing State;

(b)

in proceedings brought by administrative authorities in respect of acts which are punishable under the national law of the issuing State by virtue of being infringements of the rules of law and where the decision may give rise to proceedings before a court having jurisdiction, in particular, in criminal matters;

(c)

in proceedings brought by judicial authorities in respect of acts which are punishable under the national law of the issuing State by virtue of being infringements of the rules of law, and where the decision may give rise to proceedings before a court having jurisdiction, in particular, in criminal matters; and

(d)

in connection with proceedings referred to in points (a), (b), and (c) which relate to offences or infringements for which a legal person may be held liable or punished in the issuing State.

Article 5 Content and form of the EIO

1. The EIO in the form set out in Annex A shall be completed, signed, and its content certified as accurate and correct by the issuing authority.

The EIO shall, in particular, contain the following information:

(a) data about the issuing authority and, where applicable, the validating authority;

(b) the object of and reasons for the EIO;

(c) the necessary information available on the person(s) concerned;

(d) a description of the criminal act, which is the subject of the investigation or proceedings, and the applicable provisions of the criminal law of the issuing State;

(e) a description of the investigative measures(s) requested and the evidence to be obtained.

2. Each Member State shall indicate the language(s) which, among the official languages of the institutions of the Union and in addition to the official language(s) of the Member State concerned, may be used for completing or translating the EIO when the Member State concerned is the executing State.

3. The competent authority of the issuing State shall translate the EIO set out in Annex A into an official language of the executing State or any other language indicated by the executing State in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.

(1)

Convention established by the Council in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union, on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union (OJ C 197, 12.7.2000, p. 3).

(2)

Council Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA of 13 June 2002 on joint investigation teams (OJ L 162, 20.6.2002, p. 1).