European criminal records information system

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) is an EU-wide, fast electronic system for information on criminal records.

It is part of the European Judicial Network of the European Union and a network of national criminal records. The European criminal record is therefore not a central, uniform EU criminal record, but a uniform access to the national criminal records. It is part of the European Justice Portal .

The national criminal records in the Union member states will not be replaced by ECRIS, but will continue to be maintained and maintained by the Union member states in accordance with their domestic law.

Basics, history, background and goals

Basics, background and goals

The basis for the creation of ECRIS should be to strengthen the security for Union citizens in the area of ​​freedom, security and justice of the European Union. Through ECRIS, the authorized persons or institutions of the Union member states have the possibility to exchange information about criminal judgments.

The data exchange of information on convictions of persons is intended to enable courts , public prosecutors and other competent authorities and institutions to detect cross-border crime . According to the European Framework Decision (RB) 2009/315 / JI, the European Council Decision 2009/316 / JI and national regulations, information from the criminal records may also be exchanged for purposes other than use in criminal proceedings.

Criminal offenders should not be able to shed their "criminal past" by moving from one EU Member State to another. If a suspicious person is reported in the new EU member state, it can be easily identified by electronic query whether this person has already become suspicious in another EU member state in the past. In this way, crimes that have already been committed can be adequately taken into account even in the event of a new conviction (if this is permitted nationally - see principle of extension of effects ).

As a rule, however, the information system cannot be used to prevent criminal offenses, since the information is or can usually only be accessed after the offense, as the perpetrator is not known beforehand.

history

The basis for the idea of ​​ECRIS is the European Mutual Assistance Convention of 1959. On November 29, 2000 the Council adopted a program of measures to implement the principle of mutual recognition of judgments in criminal matters, in accordance with the conclusions of the Tampere European Council of October 15 and 16, 1999 accepted. The Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union of November 21, 2001 and the Protocol of October 16, 2001 are adopted as an intermediate step.

In its declaration of March 25 and 26, 2004 on the fight against terrorism, the European Council identified improving the quality of the exchange of information in the event of criminal convictions as a priority in the Hague Program, which it adopted at its meeting on March 4 and 5, 2004. Adopted November 2004, reaffirmed; In it he called for an increased exchange of information from the national registers to record convictions and offenses. These objectives are also the objectives of the action plan for the implementation of the Hague Program, which the Council and the Commission jointly adopted on 2-3 June 2005.

On January 25, 2005, the European Commission presented a White Paper on the exchange of information on criminal convictions and their effects within the European Union. On July 24, 2008, the Council then adopted Framework Decision 2008/675 / JHA on the consideration of convictions in other Member States of the European Union in new criminal proceedings.

As part of a pilot project initiated by France and Germany since 2003, the European Criminal Records Network (NJR - Network of Judicial Registers ), six or eleven EU member states ( Belgium , Germany , France , Italy , Luxembourg , the Netherlands , Poland , Slovakia , Spain , the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom ), prior to the introduction of ECRIS, criminal records information was experimentally exchanged electronically. The experience gained from this provided a basis for the ECRIS system.

On June 13, 2007, the Council of the European Union came to a general approach to the proposal for a Framework Decision (RB) on the implementation and content of the exchange of information from criminal records between the Member States. The aim of this Framework Decision is to improve and accelerate the exchange of information between national criminal registers regarding criminal convictions of Union citizens within the EU. The framework decision is intended to replace Article 22 of the 1959 European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, which has become insufficiently effective.

The European Parliament (EP) approved on 17 June 2008 the Council proposal for a framework decision on the organization and content of the exchange of information from criminal records between Member States in slightly amended. The European Parliament already approved the Commission proposal in a modified form in June 2007 and a modified proposal was submitted to the Council and now had to approve it again. The most important change and criticism of the European Parliament compared to the Council proposal was improved protection of personal data.

On September 15, 2008, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament adopted the draft report on the Commission's proposal to set up the European Criminal Records Information System.

On October 9, 2008, the European Parliament approved the establishment of a European criminal records database (ECRIS) in a first reading in the consultation procedure. On October 24, 2008, the Council of the European Union for Justice and Home Affairs agreed on a general approach regarding the establishment of a European criminal records database.

The electronic data exchange via ECRIS began on April 27, 2012.

Layout and function

ECRIS is an information network that is based on information from the criminal records databases of the EU member states (Art 3 (1) Decision 2009/315 / JI). The central recording and storage location for all judgments issued against a specific person is the Union member state of which that person is a national. Other EU member states are obliged, if they are sentenced to a criminal offense against a person, to immediately transmit all necessary information as well as all subsequent entries electronically in a uniform standard format to the EU member state of which the convicted person is a national. Requests for information on convictions of EU member states must be answered within ten working days. If, on the other hand, a person requests information from their own criminal record, the information must be answered within twenty working days.

ECRIS is a decentralized information technology system, as the criminal records data are only stored in the national databases of the Union member states and are only exchanged in electronic form between the central authorities of the Union member states upon request for information.

Whether nationals of third countries have already been convicted in another Member State can only be determined by sending a request for information to all Member States.

The European Commission provides special software for the member states of the Union (reference implementation software). In addition, the Union Member States can benefit from financial support in the form of grants under the Criminal Justice Specific Program to modernize their national criminal records systems.

ECRIS consists of the following elements:

  • Reference implementation software (Article 3 (1) (a)) Decision 2009/316 / JI - Link software for the exchange of information between the criminal records databases of the member states for which the respective Union member state is responsible for storing, sending and receiving data - Article 3 Paragraph 4 Decision 2009/316 / JI. - The European Commission is responsible for the common communication infrastructure),
  • a common communication infrastructure (s-TESTA) with an encrypted network (Article 3 Paragraph 1 lit. b and Paragraph 5 Decision 2009/316 / JI).

Due to this IT structure, it is not possible for authorities of the Union Member States within the meaning of Article 3 of Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA to have direct access to the criminal records databases of other Member States.

Information sent

A distinction is made between mandatory, optional and additional information for the information to be sent. Mandatory information (if available) must always be sent. Optional information is information that is transmitted once it is entered in the criminal record. Additional information is that which is provided when it is available to the central authorities.

Mandatory information

  • Information on the person who was convicted
    • full name and - if applicable - previous names,
    • Date of birth,
    • Place of birth (city and state),
    • Gender,
    • Nationality.
  • Information on the type of conviction
    • Date of conviction,
    • Name of the court,
    • Date on which the decision became final.
  • Information about the offense underlying the conviction
    • Date of the offense underlying the judgment and
    • Name or legal qualification of the offense and reference to the applicable statutory provisions.
  • Information on the content of the conviction,
    • in particular the main penalty and any additional penalties,
    • Improvement and security measures and follow-up decisions that modify the enforcement of the sentence.

Optional information

  • Names of the convicted person's parents,
  • Reference number of the judgment,
  • the place where the offense was committed and
  • Loss of rights resulting from the conviction.

Additional Information

  • The identity number of the convicted person or the type and number of the person's identity document,
  • Fingerprints of the person concerned and
  • possibly pseudonym and / or alias name (s).
  • In addition, the central authority can transmit any other information on convictions that is recorded in the criminal record.

ECRIS code

Every criminal act is assigned an EU-wide uniform code (ECRIS code). This ensures that the criminal records of the other EU member states can be correctly interpreted in the respective country. Inquiries to different EU member states can be made at the same time by ticking the relevant countries in the electronic form.

Change of the previous situation

Significant changes to the previous situation of the national storage of data on convictions of offenders and to the European Mutual Assistance Convention of 1959 are that

  • all foreign criminal convictions are stored in the criminal record of the member state of which the convicted person is a national. Until then, the EU member states could decide for themselves whether and what was saved or reported,
  • the information exchange will in future only be electronic and automated,
  • a European certificate of good conduct is introduced.

Legal basis

The idea of ​​ECRIS is based on the European Mutual Assistance Convention of 1959. In the relationship between the Member States, this framework decision should replace Article 22 of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. The general principles according to which ECRIS works are regulated in the Framework Decision (RB) on the exchange of criminal records information and in the ECRIS Decision.

The Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA should contribute in measure no. 3 of the program of measures to implement the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters objectives, adopted by the European Council in Tampere on 15 and 16 October 1999 to reach.

The legal basis for the framework decision (RB) 2009/315 / JI is in particular

  • Article 31 (decision-making - procedure) TEU as amended by the Treaty of Nice (see now Part Three, Title IV, Chapters 1, 4 and 5, in particular also Article 87 TFEU ) and
  • Article 34 paragraph 2 letter b TEU as amended by the Treaty of Nice (now: Article 82 paragraph 1 subparagraph 2 lit.d) TFEU, on judicial cooperation in criminal matters, in particular cooperation between the judicial authorities or corresponding authorities of the EU member states within the framework prosecution and enforcement of decisions.

With the decision 2009/316 / JHA Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA is performed, can be thus an electronic system for the exchange of information on criminal convictions between Member States built and developed.

The legal basis for decision (RB) 2009/316 / JI is in particular

  • Article 31 (decision-making - procedure) TEU as amended by the Treaty of Nice (see now Part Three, Title IV, Chapters 1, 4 and 5, in particular also Article 87 TFEU ) and
  • Article 34 paragraph 2 letter c TEU as amended by the Treaty of Nice (now: Article 82 paragraph 2 subparagraph 2 lit.d) TFEU, on judicial cooperation in criminal matters, in particular on other specific aspects of criminal proceedings that were previously unanimously approved by the Council have been determined by resolution and approved by the European Parliament.

competitor

The provisions of the framework decision RB 2009/315 / JI and the decision 2009/316 / JI do not affect the possibility of the judicial authorities, in accordance with Article 13 in conjunction with Article 15 para. 3 of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and without prejudice to Article 6 para. 1 of the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Member States of the European Union, established by a legal act of the Council of 29 May 2000, to request information from the criminal record directly and to transmit information from the criminal record directly to each other. However, for the purposes of Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA, the EU member states have waived their right to invoke their reservations to Article 13 of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. The Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA replaced in relations between the Union Member States have taken the necessary measures to comply to this framework decision, and at the latest by 27 April 2012 to Article 22 of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, supplemented by Article 4 of the Additional Protocol to this Convention of March 17, 1978; the application of these articles in relations between the Member States and third countries remains unaffected .

Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA does not affect the application of more favorable provisions in bilateral or multilateral agreements between Member States.

Expansion plans

After the terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015 in Paris , an extraordinary council of justice and interior ministers on November 20, 2015 also agreed to expand the exchange of information on convictions of third-country nationals in the EU via the European criminal records information system ECRIS. Information on non-EU citizens , provided they have a criminal record in an EU country, should be made available through Ecris; Ecris should also enable the transmission of fingerprints . A proposal for a corresponding guideline was announced in January 2016.

In an opinion, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights assessed the addition to ECRIS with regard to the exchange of information on convictions of third-country nationals within the EU as positive. B. Legal security and the protection of children against abuse could be better guaranteed. It was criticized, however, that the expansion of the system would require special security measures in order to properly comply with the principles of proportionality, legality and equality before the law and to protect fundamental rights. The protection of personal data must be guaranteed and individuals must be given the opportunity to access their data in order to change it if necessary. Effective legal remedies should also be available to prevent violations of the law.

The European Commission adopted on 19 January 2016 policy change proposal for the expansion of ECRIS to; the LIBE Committee of the EU Parliament approved the proposed expansion on May 30, 2016. According to the proposal, the EU member states should be able to use a “ hit / no hit procedure ” to quickly query which of the other member states hold information on third-country nationals. In order to establish the identity of third-country nationals - with a few exceptions - their fingerprints and the names of the parents of convicted persons should be stored and compared in pseudonymised form . Although this proposal is generally approved by the EU Council and its committees, the EU member states fear that the proposed decentralized IT system and the transnational procedure for identity comparison are too complex. The decentralized IT system should therefore be replaced by a centralized database according to the ideas of the EU Council .

As it became known in the course of the reporting on the criminal case Maria L. at the end of 2016, the expansion of ECRIS had not yet taken place. Subsequent knowledge of a previous conviction of the suspect in Greece showed that the exchange of criminal records information on convicted persons between EU countries is an essential factor for a properly functioning common area of ​​security and justice in Europe. On February 3, 2017, the federal state of Baden-Württemberg therefore submitted a motion to the Federal Council for a resolution for the early implementation of a central international criminal records information system (ECRIS) involving third-country nationals . The Federal Council was asked in the application to ask the Federal Government to work towards the early implementation of a central international criminal records information system (ECRIS) with the involvement of third-country nationals, taking into account the adequate protection of personal data. The motion for a resolution was presented on February 10, 2017 as item 98 of the agenda at the 953rd session of the Bundesrat in a speech by the Minister for Justice and European Affairs of the State of Baden-Württemberg Guido Wolf and referred to the responsible committees of the Bundesrat for discussion .

On June 29, 2017, the European Commission proposed a new ECRIS-TCN regulation for the expansion of the existing ECRIS by the legally separate ECRIS-TCN. ECRIS-TCN - a system of databases operated centrally by eu-LISA - is intended to identify the EU member states in which information about convictions of third-country nationals and stateless persons (TCN) is available. The Member States identified should then be able to transmit information on previous convictions of TCN to the Member State requesting information via the existing ECRIS. Users should only need a single piece of software for pan-European access to the central ECRIS-TCN and the connection to the criminal records authorities of other EU member states. The proposal of the EU Commission was discussed in the first reading at the 3564th meeting of the Council of the EU ( Justice and Home Affairs ) on October 12 and 13, 2017.

National implementation

Germany

The Federal Office of Justice acts as the central office for the transmission of data from the federal states and to the other Union member states and vice versa.

Austria

Convictions and the decisions that follow a conviction and that affect them (e.g. final forbearance) are electronically sent by the courts in Austria to the criminal records office at the regional police headquarters in Vienna as the responsible central authority (electronic penalty card - ESK). This state police department stores the data in the criminal record and forwards them within the European Union to the convicted person's country of origin, where they are stored for any inquiries from other Union member states.

criticism

The problem with the current system is that the national criminal regulations sometimes differ greatly from one another. What is a criminal offense in one EU member state may be entirely unpunished in another country or only significant under administrative criminal law (e.g. fare dodging on public transport ).

Also, according to the current system, information about offenders is processed differently and stored for different lengths of time. Therefore, the exchange of data can lead to discrimination, distortion and increasing inaccuracies due to automatic translations as well as a violation of national regulations, e.g. B. with regard to the rehabilitation of offenders.

The conditions for the use of personal data for the data-receiving EU member state in Article 9 of the RB 2009/315 / JI are so broad that compliance with them is difficult to monitor, since as soon as domestic law prevents an immediate and serious risk to public security is that the transmitted data can be used for almost all purposes.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Recital 1 of Framework Decision (RB) 2009/315 / JI.
  2. ↑ See however recital 12 of the RB 2009/315 / JI, after a person convicted of a sexual offense against children in the event that this conviction is recorded in the criminal record of this person in the convicting Member State and imposed a loss of rights resulting from this conviction and in the criminal record should no longer be able to conceal this conviction or this loss of rights with the aim of hiding it . In particular, such a person should therefore no longer be in a position to work in another Member State in connection with the supervision of children. Recital 15 of the RB 2009/315 / JI refers to Recommendation No. R (84) 10 of the Council of Europe on the criminal record and the reintegration of convicted persons and states that the criminal record is primarily used by the authorities responsible for the criminal justice system informing them of the criminal record of a person on trial so that they can take into account the particular circumstances of each case in their decision. Since any other use of the criminal record that could hinder the convicted person's chances of social reintegration must be limited as much as possible, the use of the information transmitted in application of this Framework Decision for purposes other than criminal proceedings may be subject to the national law of the requested and of the requesting member state Whether it is actually done, however, depends on how the respective domestic legal situation is structured.
  3. ↑ See: OJ C 12 of 15 January 2001, p. 10 and Recital 2 of the RB 2009/315 / JI.
  4. ↑ OJ C 326 of November 21, 2001, p. 1.
  5. ↑ See OJ C 53 of 3 March 2005, p. 1.
  6. ↑ Quoted from Recital 4 of Framework Decision 2009/315 / JI.
  7. ↑ COM (2005) 10 final .
  8. ↑ OJ. L 220 of August 15, 2008, p. 32.
  9. ↑ See Recital 11 of the RB 2009/315 / JI.
  10. ↑ a b See Recital 8 of the RB 2009/315 / JI: The notification of convictions handed down in other Member States is currently regulated by Articles 13 and 22 of this agreement.
  11. ↑ See Article 13 Paragraph 1 RB 009/315 / JI.
  12. ↑ According to Recital 16 of the RB 2009/315 / JI, the provisions of this Framework Decision do not aim to harmonize the national criminal record systems of the Member States. This Framework Decision does not oblige the convicting Member State to change its internal criminal records system with a view to the use of the information for national purposes .
  13. ↑ See Recital 17 of the RB 2009/315 / JI.
  14. ↑ See Article 4 ff of the RB 2009/315 / JI.
  15. ↑ Article 8 para. 1 RB 2009/315 / JI.
  16. ↑ Article 8 para. 2 RB 2009/315 / JI.
  17. ↑ See Article 3 and Recital 11 of Decision 2009/316 / JHA.
  18. ↑ See Article 3 Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the RB 2009/315 / JI.
  19. ↑ a b criminal record. In: e-justice.europa.eu. August 4, 2016, accessed April 2, 2017 .
  20. ↑ See Recital 17 of Decision 2009/316 / JI.
  21. ↑ In this regard, the EU member states also bear their own costs associated with the implementation, administration, use and maintenance of their criminal records databases mentioned in paragraph 1 and the connection software mentioned in that paragraph - Article 3 Paragraph 8 Subparagraph. 1 Decision 2009/316 / JI.
  22. ↑ In this context, the European Commission bears the costs for the implementation, administration, use, maintenance and future further development of the common communication infrastructure of ECRIS as well as the further development of the reference implementation software - Article 3 Paragraph 6 and Paragraph 8 subparagraph. 2 Decision 2009/316 / JI.
  23. ↑ See Article 11 Paragraph 1 lit. a).
  24. ↑ See Article 11 Paragraph 1 lit. b).
  25. ↑ See Article 11 Paragraph 1 lit. c).
  26. ↑ Article 4 Decision 2009/316 / JI.
  27. ↑ See Recital 9 of the RB 2009/3315 / JI.
  28. ↑ FRAMEWORK DECISION 2009/315 / JHA OF THE COUNCIL of 26 February 2009 on the implementation and content of the exchange of information from the criminal records between the Member States (PDF) , OJ L 93, 23.
  29. ↑ DECISION 2009/316 / JHA OF THE COUNCIL of 6 April 2009 on the establishment of the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) in accordance with Article 11 of Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA (PDF) , OJ L 93, 33.
  30. ↑ See Recital 6 of Decision 2009/316 / JI.
  31. ↑ OJ. C 197 of July 12, 2000, p. 3.
  32. ↑ See Recital 10 of the RB 2009/315 / JI.
  33. ↑ See Article 12 Paragraph 2 RB 009/315 / JI.
  34. ↑ See Article 12 Paragraph 3 RB 009/315 / JI and Recital 14 of the RB 2009/315 / JI.
  35. ↑ See Article 12 Paragraph 5 RB 009/315 / JI.
  36. ↑ EU wants to close the gap in data exchange in the fight against terrorism. (No longer available online.) DerStandard.at, January 19, 2016, archived from the original on January 19, 2016 ; Retrieved January 19, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / derstandard.at
  37. ↑ Information from the European Commission: Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA of the Council with regard to the exchange of information on third-country nationals and the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) and to replace decision 2009 / 316 / JI of the Council, printed matter 42/16, 25 January 2016, Federal Council ( PDF ).
  38. ↑ COM (2016) 6 final , Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Council Framework Decision 2009/315 / JHA of 26 February 2009 on the implementation and content of the exchange of information from the criminal record between the Member States, Strasbourg, 19 January 2016, European Commission.
  39. ↑ Opinion of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights concerning the exchange of information on third country nationals under a possible future system complementing the European Criminal Records Information System , FRA Opinion - 1/2015 [ECRIS] of December 4, 2015.
  40. ↑ Migration: improving the management of the EU's external borders. europarl.europa.eu, June 7, 2016, accessed on December 22, 2016 .
  41. ↑ Dominik Brodowski: Developments relevant to criminal law in the European Union. (PDF) In: Zeitschrift für Internationale Strafrechtsdogmatik (ZIS), January 5, 2017 (see p. 25 → b) Extension to third-country nationals ).
  42. ^ Murder in Freiburg: police union complains about obstacles. tz.de, December 17, 2016, accessed on December 22, 2016 .
  43. ↑ a b Resolution of the Federal Council for an early implementation of a central international criminal records information system (ECRIS) with the involvement of third-country nationals on the advisory process (DRS 118/17). German Federal Council (Mediathek), 953rd meeting of the Federal Council, Item 98, speech by Guido Wolf , February 10, 2017.
  44. ^ Motion from the state of Baden-Württemberg - Federal Council resolution for an early implementation of a central international criminal records information system (ECRIS). (PDF) Federal Council , printed matter 118/17, February 3, 2017.
  45. ↑ 953rd meeting of the Bundesrat - Top 98th German Bundesrat (Service), 953rd meeting of the Bundesrat on February 10, 2017, shorthand report, as of February 20, 2017.
  46. ↑ Cover sheet to the project early warning document: Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the establishment (...) (PDF) (www.landtag.ltsh.de → fwsdok-19-00019)
  47. ↑ a b Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing a centralized system for the identification of the EU Member States in which information on convictions of third-country nationals and stateless persons (TCN) is available, as well as to supplement and support the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS ) and amending Regulation (EU) No. 1077/2011 (ECRIS-TCN) (PDF) European Commission , 29 June 2017.
  48. ↑ 960th meeting of the German Federal Council, agenda item 558/17. , 09/22/2017 (to set up ECRIS-TCN).
  49. ↑ Interinstitutional dossier: 2017/0144 (COD). (PDF) Council of the European Union , October 2, 2017 ( Questions put to the Council for discussion. )
  50. ↑ Main results, Meeting of the Council of the EU (Justice and Home Affairs), 12.-13. October 2017., Council of the EU (Justice and Home Affairs) (see point: Judicial cooperation in criminal matters ).
  51. ↑ This is also problematic because, according to Decision 2009/316 / JI, neither this decision nor Framework Decision 2009/315 / JI creates an obligation to exchange information on non-criminal decisions - see Recital 9 of Decision 2009/316 / JI.
  52. ↑ See the exception provision in Article 9 Paragraph 3 RB 2009/315 / JI.