The Committee of Permanent Representatives at the Council of the European Union – also known as COREPER – has approved the Estonian capital, Tallinn, as the seat of the EU judicial cross-border data exchange channel e-CODEX.
The data exchange channel is to be located at the EU’s IT agency, eu-LISA, that is based in Tallinn.
According to the Estonian justice minister, Maris Lauri, the platform will allow for easier and more convenient exchange of data with different member states in both civil and criminal matters.
“This, in turn, will bring legal possibilities closer to citizens, businesses, lawyers and public officials,” the minister said in a statement.
The further development and management of the system will take place at eu-LISA in Estonia. This will lead to the expansion of eu-LISA in Tallinn, including the creation of additional jobs, the ministry added.
The e-CODEX platform is designed to make cross-border justice accessible for all citizens and businesses within the European Union.
A digital infrastructure for cross-border information exchange
“About ten million people are currently involved in cross-border civil proceedings. e-CODEX provides them with easy access to legal means and boosts judicial cooperation by improving the interoperability between legal authorities within the European Union,” the e-CODEX website says.
“In an increasingly digital society, cross-border judicial cooperation relies on e-justice solutions to facilitate the interaction between different national and European actors in legal procedures. e-CODEX offers a European digital infrastructure for secure cross-border communication and information exchange in criminal and civil law.”
Services provided by e-CODEX allow secure communication and information exchange between member states in the field of justice. “The broader vision of e-CODEX is that any citizen or legal professional in the European Union could communicate electronically with any legal authority, including communication of legal authorities with each other,” according to the e-CODEX website.
The e-CODEX system is presently being implemented for European investigation and payment orders, small claims procedures, the mutual recognition of financial penalties and for custodial sentences. In addition, experts are exploring e-CODEX as the transmission system for the secure exchange of electronic evidence between judicial authorities in criminal matters, the website added.
Cover: The EU’s IT agency, eu-LISA, is based in Tallinn. Photo by Crossed t 2020, shared under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
