DataFocus 2012

10:15 - 10:45

What Lawyers Need to Know About Digital Evidence

Digital evidence is, first and foremost, evidence just like any other, and therefore subject to the same basic rules that apply to all other types of evidence. However, it must be acknowledged that digital evidence is different in nature. The suspect’s presence at the crime scene can be confirmed, for example, by DNA analysis or by finding his wallet and documents. Even though both of these types of evidence represent a valuable source of information, there are significant differences between them arising from the manner of their collection, storage, analysis and evaluation. Just as DNA analysis represented the big unknown at the beginning of its development, so was the digital forensics cloaked in obscurity at the beginning of its era. But unlike DNA analysis, which relatively quickly became generally accepted and an indisputable means of evidence in criminal proceedings, digital forensics still has a tough road ahead of it. It is much easier to understand the fact that the human body leaves biological traces, than the fact that the use of digital devices leaves digital traces. Blood, saliva and hair are everyday and familiar terms, whereas the bit, the byte, metadata, and algorithms are as far from familiar as it gets. The use of digital evidence in court proceedings therefore depends on the ability to understand the nature of such evidence, which requires specific knowledge of digital evidence and digital forensics, as a method or means of digital evidence collection, storage, analysis, and so forth. Understanding the nature and attributes of digital evidence, as well as the limitations of digital forensics, is not necessary only for the regularity of legal proceedings, but also for the successful cooperation between legal professionals (judges, investigators, state prosecutors, lawyers) and forensic experts. It is therefore imperative that legal professionals acquire certain knowledge of digital evidence and forensics. The speaker will, in the lecture, focus on individuals working in the broader sphere of criminal justice and present basic topics that are important for the proper use of digital forensic results in pre-trial and criminal proceedings.

Lecturer:

Liljana Selinšek

Ph.D., Commission for the Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenia

Liljana Selinšek was awarded the academic title of Doctor of Juridical Science at the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor, in 2002. She, thereafter, passed the state bar exam. Her entire academic and, later, business career was focused on criminal law, first while working as a teaching assistant, and later as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor. Upon leaving the academic sphere, she was, for a short while, employed as a consultant at the office of the Commissioner for Access to Public Information. On 1 January 2011, she was appointed the Deputy President of the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption. Her bibliography, which counts more than 150 titles, primarily consists of scientific and professional papers and other works in the wider area of criminal law and offenses.

10:45 - 11:15

Cybercrime in New Croatian Criminal Code

The Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe today represents the European standard in the area of cybercrime protection. The adoption of the new Croatian Criminal Code, which should enter into force in 2013, should clarify all doubts arising from obligations prescribed by the Convention in the Republic of Croatia. Many point out that the normative state is already fully in line with the Convention. But is this the ultimate reach of the state for the protection in this area or can we expect further action? This question can be easily answered taking into account that the area of computer technology today represents the most dynamic area of life. Since the aforementioned act has not yet entered into force, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for some represents a particular concern, while for others an invitation to welcome more proposals. Regardless of the fact that ACTA is not directly backed by any international organisation, it is believed that future activities related to its development may provoke dissatisfaction and even open expression of violence. Will ACTA-related activities, even if ACTA is not adopted in the current form, demand further activity given prescribing prohibited behavior in the area of cybercrime? That is the burning question. The purpose of the lecture is to give an overview of the newly adopted Criminal Code given the normative framework regarding cybercrime and circumstances prescribing the punishable behavior in the area of computer technology.

Lecturer:

Stjepan Gluščić

Police Academy Zagreb, Croatia

Stjepan Gluščić is a professor at the Zagreb Police College, where he teaches courses in criminal procedural law. He has published numerous professional and scientific papers, participated in the drafting of various legal regulations and cooperated with a great number of Croatian and international institutions.

11:15 - 11:45

Collection of Electronic (Digital) Evidence for Criminal Proceedings

The recent development of cybertechnology is also observed in the area of criminal law. On the one hand, we are now dealing with new offenses in the area of cybercrime but, on the other hand, it is now possible to commit other criminal offenses using computer systems. Moreover, cyber technology has also made possible the storage of information on committed criminal offenses in electronic (digital) form, which can lead to their detection and investigation. The subject of this lecture is the collection of evidence in electronic (digital) form for the purpose of criminal proceedings. This activity, by its definition, differs from the preventive collection of computer data by the police and security services. Following the development of technology, the Criminal Procedure Act now provides for the use of data in electronic (digital) form as evidence and prescribes the manner of their collection. The implementation of related measures may be seen as a significant limitation of fundamental civil rights and freedoms, in particular the right to respect for one’s private and family life, the right to freedom and secrecy of correspondence and other forms of communication, and the right to security and confidentiality of personal data. The lecture will discuss the legal regulation of measures for the collection of electronic evidence. We will also consider the extent to which Croatian legislation complies with the principles and recommendations contained in Recommendation No. R(95)13 and fulfills convention obligations prescribed by the Convention on Cybercrime. In addition, we will compare the existing Croatian regulatory framework with the judiciary of the European Court of Human Rights concerning the legality of electronic evidence collection and draw a comparison with solutions from other countries.

Lecturers:

Elizabeta Ivičević Karas

Faculty of Law, Croatia

Elizabeta Ivičević Karas received her Ph.D. from the Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) and the University of Zagreb upon completing her doctoral dissertation titled “The Principle of Equality of Arms in Criminal Matters in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and in Comparative Law”. She passed the state bar exam in 2009. Currently, she is the leader of the scientific project “Reform of Croatian Economic Criminal Law” launched by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports and the development project “Judgements of the European Court of Human Rights in Criminal Cases against the Republic of Croatia” launched by the University of Zagreb. In addition, she is an associate in the scientific project “Contemporary Criminal Procedure in the Republic of Croatia and Europe”, led by Prof. Davor Krapac, Ph.D. As an associate, she also contributed to the scientific projects “Criminal and Legal Aspects of the Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union”, led by Prof. Zlata Đurđević, Ph.D., and “Croatia and International Criminal Justice” led by the Chief Investigator, prof. Ivo Josipović, Ph.D. She is a member of the Croatian Association of Criminal Sciences and Practice and the Croatian Association of European Criminal Law. Furthermore, she has published two books and a number of scientific and professional papers.

Marin Bonačić

Faculty of Law, Croatia

Marin Bonačić was employed as a junior researcher at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, where he participated in the scientific research project “Croatia and International Criminal Justice”. Since March 2009, he has worked as a teaching assistant at the Department of Criminal Law with the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb. He teaches criminal procedural law, misdemeanor law, and criminology within the integrated university-level study program, and the course Basics of Criminal and Misdemeanour Law offered by the Study Centre for Public Administration and Public Finance Law within the Faculty of Law. In 2010 and 2011 he acted as the local leader of the international project “Documenting the Past of Croatia: Establishment of a Digital Database on War Crimes”, sponsored by the Kingdom of The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs MATRA Programme and the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education, and Sport. As an associate, he also contributed to the scientific projects “Criminal and Legal Aspects of the Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union”, led by Prof. Zlata Đurđević, Ph.D., and “Judgements of the European Court of Human Rights in Criminal Cases against the Republic of Croatia” led by asst. prof. Elizabeta Ivičević Karas, PhD. He previously participated in the scientific project “Croatia and International Criminal Justice” led by Prof. Ivo Josipović, Ph.D. He is a member of the Croatian Association of Criminal Sciences and Practice, the Croatian Association of European Criminal Law, and l’Association Internationale de Droit penal (AIDP). In addition, he authored numerous professional papers and presentations and collaborated on a book project (currently in the process of publication).

11:45 - 12:15

Digital Forensics and Privacy

Both the charge itself and the right to privacy represent a new challenge to digital evidence investigators when gathering digital evidence within the investigative activity. Must a person being investigated provide a password for his or her computer, account, or file, without which the exclusion and gathering of digital evidence sometimes is not possible? How do we interpret data that the user “deleted” from his or her computer and may such data being retrieved, whose metadata are lost, be taken into account during the investigation? What about private data collected on a person (whether such a person is or is not a suspect) and private data regarding other persons found during the gathering and exclusion of digital evidence? There are still many unanswered questions. This lecture will touch on some of these issues and offer several possible solutions, based both on the EU legislation and considerable professional and expert experience.

Lecturer:

Miroslav Bača

Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varaždin, Croatia

Miroslav Bača is a full professor at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin, University of Zagreb, where he teaches courses in the abuse and security of information systems and biometrics. He is the President of the Committee on the Specialised Postgraduate Study Programme in Information Systems Security and Auditing Management at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics. In his current scientific and professional work, he primarily focuses on the protection and security of information systems, as well as the domains of computer forensics and digital evidence. In addition, he has so far written over 50 scientific and professional papers on this topic, as well as several books. He is a permanent court expert witness in biometry, informatics and telecommunications, and has, in such capacity, given several hundred different expert testimonies. Furthermore, he is a certified European Privacy Seal expert evaluator for IT products and IT-based services for the whole of EU.