On 2nd and 3rd June 2022 the EJN Regional meeting took place in Riga, Latvia, organised by the Latvian Contact Points of the EJN. EJN Contact Points from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden participated in the meeting, as well as representatives from the EJN Secretariat and a number of Latvian judges, prosecutors and police authorities.

The aim of the meeting was to facilitate discussions between the EJN Contact Points and national experts on the promotion of the digitalization in cross-border judicial cooperation in the criminal matters, using technical means, especially videoconference.

In particular, the COVID-19 crisis had not only increased the general interest in this topic in the European Union and beyond, but also highlighted the need to review the efficciency and practical implementation of the existing judicial cooperation instruments. 

It is necessary to ensure the efficient and expeditious court hearings; meanwhile, it is also necessary to respect the right of individuals to a fair trial. Thus, there was an urgent need to discuss the possibility to have more simplified and appropriate international digital tools that would provide efficient and modern solutions for the court proceedings, for example, in the situations when a person involved is residing outside the country of a trial and would like to participate in the proceedings without travelling.

During the meeting, the EJN Contact Points raised the following issues:

- admissibility of evidence in criminal proceedings in which videoconference is organized, including the cooperation with the third states;

- secure communication channel;

- data protection;

- compliance with the principles of criminal procedure in the EU Member States;

- the status of the party and the consent of the person (i.e. difficulty to question the accused persons even in the so-called 'classical way').

When organizing videoconference, Latvian courts have identified various problems, for example, the need to comply with the specific requirements of the other country, technical issues, communication problems and time limits. 

The experts discussed possible solutions on whether the current international legal framework allows to have a cross-border videoconference with a person, regardless the status, without the involvement of the competent authority of the Member State where the person is located. Furthermore, they debated which problems should be resolved to ensure better communication between competent authorities. 

The EJN Contact Points exchanged experience and best practices, as well gathered recommendations and solutions for interviewing individuals by videoconference.

In addition, the participants discussed the theoretical and practical aspects of the CJEU judgment in Case C-852/19 (Gavanozov II) and the EU Commission representative informed the participants about the digitalization possibilities in relation to the  “Proposal for a Regulation on digitalisation of judicial cooperation and access to justice in cross-border civil, commercial and criminal matters”. 

Overall, the EJN Regional meeting in Latvia facilitated the identification of possible solutions of the topics discussed that would also help the EJN Contact Points to ensure assistance in criminal matters not only within the EU, but also with the third countries.