Admissibility of Evidence in EU Cross-Border Criminal Proceedings: Electronic Evidence, Efficiency and Fair-Trial Rights in the Netherlands

Abstract

This chapter presents an analysis of the current Dutch legal system with respect to the admissibility of electronic evidence (e-evidence). Th e current Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) originates from 1926. A large-scale revision of the Code is currently underway (hereaft er: the proposed CCP). A comprehensive legislative proposal was submitted in March 2023. 1 However, consecutive Ministers of Justice and Security have made it clear that the revisions will not lead to a complete overhaul of the Code or the principles underlying the choices made in the past (for example, no juries, prosecutorial freedom). Many of the distinctive features of the current system, which are analysed in this chapter, will return in one way or another in the revised Code.