International review of criminal policy - Nos. 43 and 44/PROCEDURAL LAW/International harmonization


 * E. International harmonization

176. In procedural law, international action has already commenced in all of the areas described above and has been concerned with (a) the field of coercive powers; (b) the legality of processing personal data in the course of criminal proceedings; and (c) the admissibility of computer-generated evidence in court proceedings.


 * 1. Coercive powers in the field of information technology

177. One example of international harmonization of the above-mentioned coercive powers in information technology derives primarily from the guarantees of article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The European Court of Human Rights applied these guarantees especially in the area of wire-tapping. In the Klass case,the Court confirmed the legality of the German law on limitations of the secrecy of letters, post and telecommunication, which, under specific conditions, provides the authorities with the competence to supervise