Currently, 85% of criminal cases require the handling of digital evidence, posing significant challenges for the criminal justice system. A congress in Vigo is bringing together legal experts to discuss the implications of this trend, focusing on the balance between the legitimacy and efficacy of criminal investigations and the protection of fundamental rights.
The International Congress on When Digital Evidence is Criminal: Reliability, Control and Procedural Guarantees is being held this week at the Faculty of Law and Labour Sciences. Organised by Professor and Vice-Rector Esther Pillado González and Dean Pablo Grande Seara, the event aims to foster academic debate on the evolving role of technology in criminal justice.
Addressing the impact of technology
The rapid advancement of new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), presents challenges across various sectors, including justice. Digital evidence such as audio recordings, screenshots, electronic messages, emails, and data from mobile phones are increasingly prevalent in criminal investigations. As noted by the organisers, the challenge lies in ensuring that this evidence is both reliable and legitimate while respecting fundamental rights.
Key themes of the congress
The congress is structured around five thematic axes:
- Procedural guarantees and technology: Examining the impact of new technologies on criminal investigations and the conditions necessary for the validity and legality of digital evidence.
- Protection of vulnerable victims: Discussing the particularities of pre-constituted evidence, gender perspectives in evidence assessment, and measures to prevent the re-victimisation of minors.
- Management of digital information: Addressing the registration of mass storage devices, geolocation data, and the European regulatory framework for obtaining and transmitting digital evidence.
- Combating corruption: Exploring the implications of EU Directive 2026/1021, which establishes common minimum standards across the Union.
- Challenges in evidence related to corruption: Focusing on digital evidence in compliance contexts and evidentiary standards in corruption cases from a comparative legal perspective.
Balancing legitimacy and rights
According to Dean Grande Seara, the issues surrounding the use of digital evidence extend beyond mere acquisition. It is crucial to reflect on the conditions for lawful and rights-respecting evidence collection, its integrity, and the standards for its incorporation into legal proceedings. He emphasises the need for improved international police and judicial cooperation due to the transnational nature of much digital evidence.
The congress aims to contribute to this ongoing debate by identifying the risks posed by new technologies to fair criminal processes and exploring how to ensure that their use in investigations aligns with fundamental rights and legal guarantees.
Training future legal professionals
This event also serves to enhance the education of future legal professionals, as it is part of the Doctoral Programme in Justice and Conflict Resolution. Dean Grande Seara highlights the importance of updating study plans and ongoing training to prepare professionals for the challenges of an increasingly digitalised justice system.
The role of AI
One of the most disruptive elements in this digitalisation process is the emergence of AI and algorithms, which raise questions about the control, reliability, and integrity of digital evidence. While AI can facilitate the analysis of large volumes of information, it also poses challenges regarding the authenticity of the evidence produced. The implications of these issues are particularly significant in criminal proceedings, where the determination of facts can lead to severe consequences for individuals.
On the first day of the congress, discussions centred on procedural guarantees for the validity of AI-generated evidence, focusing on how to harness the potential of these tools without compromising the presumption of innocence or the right to a fair trial.
