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It is the ultimate responsibility of the service provider to ensure that they are compliant with their obligations under the e-Evidence Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 and the Criminal Justice (International Cooperation Office) Bill 2026 transposing Directive (EU) 2023/1544. These guidelines are intended to assist service providers in their understanding of and compliance with those obligations. These guidelines do not constitute secondary legislation. Service providers must always refer directly to the legislation when ascertaining their statutory obligations. These guidelines do not replace or override any legal and/or regulatory requirements. In the event of a discrepancy between these guidelines and the EU and national e-Evidence legislation, the legislation will apply. These guidelines are not exhaustive and do not set limitations on the steps to be taken by service providers to meet their statutory obligations.

The EU e-Evidence package consists of two pieces of EU legislation: Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 and Directive (EU) 2023/1544. The aim of the package is to facilitate law enforcement authorities in one EU Member State to access electronic evidence that is relevant to a criminal investigation from service providers based in other EU Member States.

Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 (“the e-Evidence Regulation”) sets out rules that allows law enforcement authorities in one EU Member State to directly request electronic evidence required for a criminal investigation from service providers based in other EU Member States.

The request can take the form of a European Production Order for Electronic Communications (EPOC) or a European Preservation Order for Electronic Communications (EPOC-PR).

Under the e-Evidence Regulation, service providers must respond to requests for electronic evidence within 10 days, or within eight hours for emergency cases.

For more information on the e-Evidence Regulation, please see the dedicated EU Commission page.

An order granted by an issuing authority requiring a service provider to ‘preserve’, or keep, electronic evidence that may be required in a criminal investigation for 60 days. This is to ensure that the electronic evidence covered by the order is not deleted before an order for production of that evidence can be issued.

An order granted by an issuing authority requiring a service provider to ‘produce’, or hand over, (subject to safeguards) the requested electronic evidence relevant to a criminal investigation.

Directive (EU) 2023/1544 (“the e-Evidence Directive”) requires EU Member States to ensure that service providers offering services in the European Union appoint an EU-based ‘addressee’ in order to receive and respond to requests for electronic evidence.

The package applies to all service providers, as defined in the e-Evidence Package, offering services to users in the European Union, regardless of whether they are based in the EU or outside the EU.

A “designated establishment’ means an establishment with legal personality designated in writing by a service provider established in a Member State taking part in the e-Evidence package.

A “legal representative” means a natural or legal person appointed in writing by a service provider not established in a Member State taking part in the e-Evidence package.

For more information on the obligations under the e-Evidence Directive, please see the dedicated EU Commission page.

Under the e-Evidence Regulation and Directive, a service provider is any natural or legal person that provides any of the following categories of services (with the exception of financial services as referred to in Article 2(2), point (b), of Directive 2006/123/EC):

a) electronic communication services;

b) internet domain name and IP numbering services

c) other information society services that (i) enable their users to to communicate with each other; or (ii) make it possible to store or otherwise process data on behalf of the users to whom the service is provided

The package applies to all service providers, as defined in the e-Evidence Package, offering services to users in the European Union, regardless of whether they are based in the EU or outside the EU.

For further information on who the package will apply to and the relevant exceptions, please see the “Definitions” page.

We recommend that service providers read this in conjunction with the legislation, and seek independent legal advice where necessary, to determine whether the package applies to them.

Under the e-Evidence package, service providers offering services in the European Union must appoint a “designated establishment” or “legal representative” who will be responsible for receiving and responding to requests from law enforcement authorities for electronic evidence.

Under the package, the “designated establishment” or “legal representative” that is selected by the service provider is called an “addressee”.

The addressee will be legally responsible for receiving, responding and complying to requests from law enforcement authorities for electronic evidence.

The e-Evidence package also requires service providers to adequately resource their addressee in order to respond to and comply with e-Evidence orders.

An ‘issuing authority’ under the e-Evidence package means the competent authority (i.e. a judicial authority - judge, court, public prosecutor, or other designated investigating authority) which can issue a European Production Order or a European Preservation Order.

An ‘enforcing authority’ is the competent authority in the Member State where the service provider is established or represented. The enforcing authority is competent to receive notifications of a European Production Order or a European Preservation Order transmitted by the issuing authority or to enforce orders in the event of non-compliance, including imposing financial penalties in accordance with the e-Evidence package.

A ‘central authority’ is designated by each Member State to ensure that the e-Evidence Directive is applied in a consistent and proportionate manner as well as to facilitate communication between authorities under the e-Evidence Regulation.

The Criminal Justice (International Cooperation Office) Bill 2026, designed to implement the EU e-Evidence package, will provide the statutory authority for a new entity in the justice sector to be designated as the competent authority for roles required under the e-Evidence Directive and the Regulation. The Director of the new entity will be designated as Ireland’s ‘central authority’ under both the e-Evidence Regulation and Directive, and as the ‘enforcement authority’ under the e-Evidence Regulation.

Under the Directive, the ‘central authority’ under the e-Evidence package will function as the central point of contact between law enforcement authorities, service providers and central authorities in other EU countries if issues with requests for electronic evidence arise. Under the Regulation, the enforcing authority will enforce incoming production orders from other EU Member States and can impose financial penalties on service providers in the event of non-compliance with requests for electronic evidence.