Is revision of the council of Europe guidelines on electronic evidence already needed?

Abstract

On 30 January 2019 the Council of Europe adopted the first guidelines on electronic evidence in civil and administrative proceedings (hereinafter also ‘Guidelines’).1 The authors question if the Guidelines already require some revisions. They also consider, whether the revised Guidelines should provide more practical advice to courts and legal practitioners related to electronic evidence. Several aspects have been identified regarding the use of the Guidelines by the courts in particular with the regard to the rapid development of online dispute resolutions systems and use of artificial intelligence algorithms in judicial systems. Both authors took an active part in the preparatory works of the Guidelines and believe it is in the interest of justice that the Guidelines should be regularly updated addressing and reflecting technological developments, new business models and evolving case-law.

Keywords

• electronic evidence
• guidelines
• online dispute resolutions systems
• digital divide
• artificial intelligence
• cloud computing
• blockchain