Several European legal instruments implementing cross-border criminal justice create a necessity to establish immediate and secure communication between lawyers from different Member States.
The European Arrest Warrant embodies a rapid proceeding in order to facilitate the availability of a person under arrest or a convicted person to the issuing country. Within this procedure, PenalNet helps to locate a lawyer and allows both lawyers to initiate an immediate contact in order to provide an efficient defense to their client by receiving a directly binding communication, facilitating relevant information and even electronic evidence which can be used in the case.
On the same grounds, we can mention the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union, the Council Framework Decision on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to confiscation orders, the Council Framework Decision on the execution in the European Union of orders freezing property or evidence, the Council Regulation (EC) on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters as well as the Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the European Evidence Warrant for obtaining objects, documents and data for use in proceedings in criminal matters.
Judges, prosecutors and policemen work through a rapid and direct relationship in the framework of their European organizations, EUROJUST and EUROPOL, which creates an excellent capacity of reaction. Therefore, to grant equality of arms, criminal lawyers need the same level of efficiency as it has been stated, amongst others, by the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
Thus, in order to implement the Contradictory Principle, the defense must be enabled to use similar means to those used by the prosecutor, defining as such technical or secured electronic communication device. The Members of the Project are thankful to the European Commission to have considered this argument when entitling this project to receive European funds.
