Criminal investigations increasingly require access to information about users and digital evidence stored in the cloud by service providers in jurisdictions outside the requesting country.
To provide actors with clarity on their respective roles and responsibilities in the process of cross-border access to electronic evidence and develop practical tools for law enforcement agencies as well as service providers to understand the different components and thresholds for cross-border requests, the I&JPN Data & Jurisdiction Program Contact Group bridges stakeholder groups and works to enhance policy coherence and develop solutions for legal interoperability.
Annually the Contact Group engages a selected set of senior-level global key actors from governments, internet companies, technical operators, civil society, leading universities, and international organizations. Members serve in their personal capacity and the work is guided by a neutral Coordinator.
Meet the 2021 Contact Group Members here
The work has been presented to a range of organizations and policy initiatives including the Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service (Ministério Público Federal, MPF) (Read more here), United Nations Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate, United Nations Office of Drugs and Organized Crime, International Association of Prosecutors (Read more here). In March 2021, the outcomes were combined to form the Toolkit on Cross-border Access to Electronic Evidence.
In 2021 the Contact Group will build on this momentum and the direction provided in the policy objectives set out in the Berlin Roadmap of the 3rd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, by informing public, private and civil society actors in their own activities and interactions in developing and implementing alternate practices for cross-border access to electronic evidence.
Learn more about the Data & Jurisdiction Program Contact Group here.
