Interoperable law enforcement : cooperation challenges in the EU area of freedom, security and justice

At present EU institutions and agencies as well as national legislators have ambitious agendas on law enforcement authorities’ access to interoperable information systems, which have become a defining feature of the AFSJ. They are the most advanced form of information exchange, conferring direct information access to competent authorities. Interoperable information systems are meant for the exchange of raw material for investigation purposes, which at a later stage could become evidence at trial. Interoperable information systems challenge existing cooperation dynamics and redefine the role of the actors involved. In fact, it is questionable whether mutual recognition and harmonisation, which have been considered the cornerstone of judicial cooperation in both civil and criminal matters for many years, can describe alone integration dynamics in law enforcement cooperation, particularly with reference to information sharing. This paper appraises whether, and to what extent, law enforcement access to and use of interoperable information systems constitute new modes of law enforcement cooperation in the EU AFSJ. It closely considers actors and/or factors which either hinder or foster such developments to assess what would be the implications of such a paradigm change in information management.