Encrochats vara eller icke vara i svensk processrätt - En undersökning av de juridiska spörsmålen i samband med åberopande av Encrochat-bevisning i brottmål.
(2022) LAGF03 20221Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- Abstract
The distinct increase regarding use of encrypted communication within organised criminal networks in order to plan and conceal criminal activity eluded law enforcement authorities in Sweden as well as on the European continent for a long time. Therefore, for obvious reasons, it was considered a huge success when French authorities in close cooperation with Eurojust and Europol were able to penetrate and dismantle the encrypted phone network Encrochat during the spring and summer of 2020. The European judicial cooperation and the possibility to issue out European Investigation Orders, to obtain evidence from other member states within the EU, has thereafter enabled several convictions in Sweden based on the material acquired from... (More) - Abstract
The distinct increase regarding use of encrypted communication within organised criminal networks in order to plan and conceal criminal activity eluded law enforcement authorities in Sweden as well as on the European continent for a long time. Therefore, for obvious reasons, it was considered a huge success when French authorities in close cooperation with Eurojust and Europol were able to penetrate and dismantle the encrypted phone network Encrochat during the spring and summer of 2020. The European judicial cooperation and the possibility to issue out European Investigation Orders, to obtain evidence from other member states within the EU, has thereafter enabled several convictions in Sweden based on the material acquired from Encrochat.
The invocation of Encrochat-data and the value of the evidence obtained from the data has been open to debate both within court procedures and within the general debate. Heavy criticism, mainly from defense attorneys, has been directed against the absence of insight to and the vagueness surrounding the French operation which led to the decryption of Encrochat. The contingency regarding how the evidence from Encrochat is to be valued within the free evaluation of evidence, is still present as the Swedish Supreme Court is yet to rule on the admissibility and value of said evidence. In the light of current Swedish law regarding evidence, coercive measures and procedural rule of law the essay investigates and discusses essential problematic sides of evidence originating from Encrochat.
The essay establishes that evidence from Encrochat calls for a cautious evidential evaluation from the court with respect to the vagueness surrounding the measures that enabled access to the data and the absence of insight to the French operation. Furthermore the essay establishes that a casual evidential evaluation without considering the problematic sides of the evidence must be avoided. Ultimately the essay draws the conclusion that cases, in which the evidence exclusively consists of data from Encrochat, should rarely lead to a conviction. Consequently, as a rule, some kind of supporting evidence is required which indicates that the defendant is guilty. Moreover, requisite investigation regarding the acquisition of evidence and regarding the individuals who took part in the encrochats should be presented from the prosecutor to provide the court with an adequate foundation for their evaluation of the evidence. Otherwise the right to a fair trial according to the European Convention on Human Rights is endangered and the procedure might be deficient relative to Swedish law. In connection with the conclusion, the essay discusses the potential influence that the criminal political debate has on the participants within the adjudication process regarding their view on evidence derived from Encrochat. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Sammanfattning
Den markant ökade användningen av krypterade kommunikationstjänster inom kriminella nätverk i syfte att planera och dölja kriminella förehavanden gäckade länge brottsbekämpande myndigheter både i Sverige och på kontinenten. Av naturliga skäl var det därför en stor framgång när franska myndigheter i nära samarbete med Eurojust och Europol lyckades knäcka den krypterade kommunikationstjänsten Encrochat under våren och sommaren år 2020. Genom det europeiska rättsliga samarbetet och möjligheten att framställa begäran om att ta del av bevismaterial från en annan medlemsstat i EU (En s.k europeisk utredningsorder) har därefter händelseutvecklingen i Sverige präglats av åtskilliga fällande domar baserade på material från... (More) - Sammanfattning
Den markant ökade användningen av krypterade kommunikationstjänster inom kriminella nätverk i syfte att planera och dölja kriminella förehavanden gäckade länge brottsbekämpande myndigheter både i Sverige och på kontinenten. Av naturliga skäl var det därför en stor framgång när franska myndigheter i nära samarbete med Eurojust och Europol lyckades knäcka den krypterade kommunikationstjänsten Encrochat under våren och sommaren år 2020. Genom det europeiska rättsliga samarbetet och möjligheten att framställa begäran om att ta del av bevismaterial från en annan medlemsstat i EU (En s.k europeisk utredningsorder) har därefter händelseutvecklingen i Sverige präglats av åtskilliga fällande domar baserade på material från Encrochat.
Åberopandet av Encrochat-material och bevisvärdet av nämnda material har genomgående varit föremål för diskussion både i domstol och i det allmänna debattforumet. Stark kritik, framför allt från försvarsadvokater, har riktats mot bristen på insyn i och osäkerheten kring förfarandet bakom den franska operationen som ledde till dekrypteringen av Encrochat. Än så länge har Högsta domstolen inte avgjort frågan avseende tillåtligheten och värdet av Encrochat-bevisning varför det fortfarande kan påstås föreligga osäkerhet beträffande hur materialet ska bedömas och värderas inom ramen för den fria bevisprövningens princip. Uppsatsen har utifrån svensk gällande rätt avseende bevisning, tvångsmedel och processuella rättssäkerhetsgarantier undersökt och diskuterat relevanta problematiska aspekter i samband med åberopandet av bevisning från Encrochat.
Uppsatsen slår fast att bevisning från Encrochat ger upphov till en genomgående försiktig bevisvärdering med hänsyn till osäkerheten beträffande dess åtkomst och bristen på insyn i åtgärderna bakom den franska operationen. Vidare konstateras att en alltför slentrianmässigt genomförd bevisprövning utan hänsyn till de problematiska aspekterna i samband med Encrochat-bevisning måste undvikas. Slutligen dras slutsatsen att Encrochat-bevisning som regel sällan ensamt bör kunna ligga till grund för fällande dom. Det torde därmed som utgångspunkt krävas ytterligare stödbevisning som talar för att den tilltalade är skyldig. Dessutom bör det presenteras erforderlig utredning från åklagaren angående bevisinhämtningen samt om vilka övriga individer som deltagit i encrochattarna för att ge domstolen goda betingelser för sin bevisvärdering. En annan ordning än nyss angiven riskerar leda till brister i förhållande till svensk rätt och rätten till en rättvis rättegång såsom den uttrycks i Europakonventionen. Uppsatsen diskuterar avslutningsvis den hårda kriminalpolitiska debattens eventuella påverkan på rättstillämpningens syn på aktuell bevisning i ljuset av de senaste årens utveckling mot en hårdare reglerad straffrätt. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9081000
- author
- Nordström, Gustav LU
- supervisor
-
- Karol Nowak LU
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Processrätt (criminal procedure), Rättsvetenskap (law), Straffrätt (criminal law), Principen om fri bevisprövning, Bevisvärdering, Encrochat.
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9081000
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-28 11:12:22
- date last changed
- 2022-06-28 11:12:22
@misc{9081000,
abstract = {{Abstract
The distinct increase regarding use of encrypted communication within organised criminal networks in order to plan and conceal criminal activity eluded law enforcement authorities in Sweden as well as on the European continent for a long time. Therefore, for obvious reasons, it was considered a huge success when French authorities in close cooperation with Eurojust and Europol were able to penetrate and dismantle the encrypted phone network Encrochat during the spring and summer of 2020. The European judicial cooperation and the possibility to issue out European Investigation Orders, to obtain evidence from other member states within the EU, has thereafter enabled several convictions in Sweden based on the material acquired from Encrochat.
The invocation of Encrochat-data and the value of the evidence obtained from the data has been open to debate both within court procedures and within the general debate. Heavy criticism, mainly from defense attorneys, has been directed against the absence of insight to and the vagueness surrounding the French operation which led to the decryption of Encrochat. The contingency regarding how the evidence from Encrochat is to be valued within the free evaluation of evidence, is still present as the Swedish Supreme Court is yet to rule on the admissibility and value of said evidence. In the light of current Swedish law regarding evidence, coercive measures and procedural rule of law the essay investigates and discusses essential problematic sides of evidence originating from Encrochat.
The essay establishes that evidence from Encrochat calls for a cautious evidential evaluation from the court with respect to the vagueness surrounding the measures that enabled access to the data and the absence of insight to the French operation. Furthermore the essay establishes that a casual evidential evaluation without considering the problematic sides of the evidence must be avoided. Ultimately the essay draws the conclusion that cases, in which the evidence exclusively consists of data from Encrochat, should rarely lead to a conviction. Consequently, as a rule, some kind of supporting evidence is required which indicates that the defendant is guilty. Moreover, requisite investigation regarding the acquisition of evidence and regarding the individuals who took part in the encrochats should be presented from the prosecutor to provide the court with an adequate foundation for their evaluation of the evidence. Otherwise the right to a fair trial according to the European Convention on Human Rights is endangered and the procedure might be deficient relative to Swedish law. In connection with the conclusion, the essay discusses the potential influence that the criminal political debate has on the participants within the adjudication process regarding their view on evidence derived from Encrochat.}},
author = {{Nordström, Gustav}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Encrochats vara eller icke vara i svensk processrätt - En undersökning av de juridiska spörsmålen i samband med åberopande av Encrochat-bevisning i brottmål.}},
year = {{2022}},
}