Issuance of the European investigation order at the stage of a preparatory proceeding for the purpose of obtaining information constituting bank secrecy

Abstract

This article discusses issues related to the issuance of the European Investigation Order (EIO) at the stage of preparatory proceedings when the subject of the proceedings is to obtain information covered by banking secrecy from a foreign bank. As part of the considerations, attention was paid to the essence of this instrument of international cooperation in criminal matters and its comprehensive nature. The key problem revealed in the prosecutorial and judicial practice is the determination of the entity competent to issue the European Investigation Order in the in rem phase of the preparatory proceedings. As part of this problem, it is also necessary to determine whether in such a procedural situation it is necessary to obtain the consent of the district court for access to bank secrecy and whether this affects the scope of competence of the court or the prosecutor. The query of the jurisprudence and the accompanying opinions of the doctrine carried out in the article revealed a non-uniform, even mutually exclusive, approach to this issue. A critical look at the presented range of views made it possible to take a clear position on the above-mentioned issues. scope and formulation of the de lege ferenda postulate.