The challenge facing the judicial system in adapting to dealing with digital evidence

Candidates for judges and prosecutors in Turkey have received training on digital evidence in the context of the Improved efficiency of pre-service training for judges and prosecutors project.  This Twinning project, financed by the European Union and managed by FIIAPP, seeks to provide practical training to these applicants, bearing in mind that this will result in improving the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of the judiciary in the subsequent exercise of its functions.  

This training takes place in two missions, in virtual format with the support of a Turkish-English simultaneous translation and interpretation team. The specialists who have taken part are judges Jesús Ángel Suárez, Sira Amor, María Jesús Millán and Julián Cabrero. In addition to the theoretical presentations, the specialists have presented various practical exercises to analyse the complexity of the subject matter covered and European legislation in this field. This course on digital evidence is expected to be attended by over a thousand future Turkish judges and prosecutors.  

The use of technologies is increasingly present in the daily life of individuals, companies and government agencies. This change in how we communicate has had a direct impact on the way crimes are committed, with the law having to adapt quickly to these circumstances and consider all plausible circumstances. This is especially apparent in judicial processes, where electronic evidence is increasingly important.  

The concept of digital proof includes any data contained or produced in or by a device that depends on a software program to store it or send it to a network or a computer. This could be on a wide range of devices such as mobile phones, websites, GPS, computers, emails, storage clouds etc.   

To adapt to this situation, European regulators are offering support to member states:  Judge Jesús Ángel Suárez points out that the Council of Europe. provides a basic guide for good practices in the handling of digital evidence in administrative and civil procedures for European lawyers and professionals.  

As resident expert Juan Carlos da Silva explains, modern technological tests, in contrast to traditional ones, require specific training in order to be processed as they can be destroyed and damaged effortlessly and remotely, meaning that all the steps from analysis to judicial processing present great complexity for professionals.