European Data Protection Board’s Post

📄Now available: the 2025 Joint Report on Schengen Information System (SIS) Coordinated Supervision Activities. The SIS supports information exchange for border management, as well as police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters within the Schengen area. 📈 Developed within the Coordinated Supervision Committee (CSC), the report examines information provided by participating member states on the exercise of individuals’ rights, court proceedings, and the mutual recognition of final decisions.    🤝 The CSC is a group composed of national Data Protection Authorities and the European Data Protection Supervisor, established within the framework of the EDPB. Explore the full report 👉 https://lnkd.in/eAD4k4cv

Can U.S. border agents search your phone or laptop without reasonable suspicion? Our latest Enforcement in Focus blog explores the widening circuit split over forensic searches of electronic devices at the border, the implications for travelers and businesses, and why Supreme Court review may be on the horizon. Read more: https://bit.ly/4ynqdvA #DataPrivacy #FourthAmendment #WhiteCollarDefense John Brownlee | Ashley Akers | Alex Blanchard | Hannah Myslik Maloney

After 5 years in the making, the Agreement on judicial cooperation in criminal matters between Algeria and the EU is finally here! ⚖️ With fundamental rights at the core of the text, this agreement seeks to gain a smoother exchange of personal data of the competent judicial authorities to fight serious crime and terrorism. Eurojust Source: https://lnkd.in/dtikn34k 📖 #EUAlgeria 🌿

How does INTERPOL actually operate? 196 member countries. One database. No power to arrest. And yet the information it moves can upend a life in an afternoon. I set out the gap between what INTERPOL is and what INTERPOL does drawing on experience Rhys Davies and I have developed through International Human Rights Advisors.

📣 The FATF financial crime watchdog conducts inspection in Damascus ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dAKXgFQN Financial Action Task Force experts recently traveled to Syria to further monitor the country which currently features on the global watchdog's ‘grey list'. The new government in Damascus is eager to prove that it is making the necessary efforts to be removed from the list. ✏️ An article by Pierre Gastineau

Ukraine has investigated almost a quarter million atrocities by Russian forces, but its judicial system struggles to meet prosecution demand. After the fully fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022, international support was focused on prosecution, including collection of evidence, data and case management. Strengthening, particularly the Office of the Prosecutor General but also law enforcement institutions. On the contrary, the Judiciary and defense attorneys have received less capacity building, slowing the final results. This reflection and others are included in the attached article prepared by Anna Stakhanova, National key expert of our rule of law flagship project Pravo-Justice4EU.

ECBA delegation attends INTERPOL to address member countries on the need to protect and enhance individuals’ right to justice   On 28 September 2026, Members of the ECBA Working Group on INTERPOL attended the Headquarters of INTERPOL in Lyon, France, to address meeting of the Committee on the Processing of Data (CPD) – the group of member countries reviewing how INTERPOL’s internal complaints panel works.   Since 2025, the CPD has been reviewing the 2016 Statute of the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF), the body which receives requests from individuals challenging notices, diffusions and other data circulated via INTERPOL’s systems.   The ECBA’s Working Group on INTERPOL has championed reforms in its 2026 report Safeguarding INTERPOL’s Systems: Recommendations for Reform, including a range of proposals for steps to improve the operation of the CCF. The ECBA has also responded to all of the CPD’s consultations on potential reforms, autonomously and jointly with Lawyers Against Transnational Repression (see here, here and here). #ECBA #INTERPOL #RedNotices #CCF #TransnationalRepression #HumanRights #RuleOfLaw #DefenceRights #CriminalDefence #CrossBorderJustice   At the meeting in Lyon, Vânia Costa Ramos, ECBA Chair, Rebecca Niblock, ECBA Vice Chair, Jago Russell, Interpol WG, Alex Tinsley, Interpol WG and Sören Schomburg, Interpol WG, were able to address the CPD on the themes of these papers (also authored by William Julié and Camille Gosson), as part of an important dialogue with INTERPOL and its member countries.   This dialogue takes place against a backdrop of serious international concern about transnational repression, including via INTERPOL’s channels, and the obligations of states and international organisations towards those affected.

The Council of Ministers of Internal Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States unanimously approved and signed Uzbekistan's proposal for regular meetings of the heads of member states' cybercrime units at its session in Dushanbe on 1 October. Uzbekistan's interior ministry said the format aims to establish direct communication between the heads of operational units and reduce bureaucratic procedures. The session also signed documents on electronic information exchange between law enforcement agencies, sharing genomic data for crime prevention, illegal migration, and interstate searches for individuals. Lieutenant General Aziz Tashpulatov, Minister of Internal Affairs, led the Uzbek delegation. President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan received the heads of delegations.

Striking the Delicate Balance: Witness Protection vs. The Right of Confrontation in Ethiopian Criminal Justice ⚖️🇪🇹 How does a criminal justice system protect witnesses from serious danger while fully preserving an accused person's constitutional right to a fair defense? This latest legal study tackles this exact dilemma by examining: 👉The critical balance between witness safety and the right of confrontation. 🤔How international tribunals successfully utilize delayed disclosure mechanisms. 🫰The major gaps in the Ethiopian criminal justice system—specifically the absence of explicit statutory disclosure rules, enforcement mechanisms, and clear balancing standards. 👉Empirical findings revealing how both the Federal Attorney General and courts have struggled to base witness protection decisions on sufficient, documented evidence of threats. This Research addresses a vital, complex, and high-stakes issue at the core of due process and the rule of law in Ethiopia. 📖 Read the full study here:👇👇 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eD7nz89g Read it, reflect on it, and join the conversation about the future of criminal justice in Ethiopia. ⚖️🇪🇹 Join us 👇👇 https://t.me/@abebeabyot15

It seems the Securiry Council can’t or won’t make up its mind, increasing the chances of more candidates entering the contest - and the later they leave it, the less time there is for the scrutiny and debate that the world needs to choose the right person.