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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 on Electronic Evidence and Other Matters) Act 2026 transposing Directive (EU) 2023/1544. This information is intended to assist service providers in their understanding of and compliance with those obligations. This information does not constitute secondary legislation. Service providers must always refer directly to the legislation when ascertaining their statutory obligations. This information does not replace or override any legal and/or regulatory requirements. In the event of a discrepancy between this information and the EU and national e-Evidence legislation, the legislation will apply. This information is 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 allow law enforcement and judicial authorities in one EU Member State to request electronic evidence required for a criminal investigation directly from service providers based in other EU Member States.

The request can take the form of a European Production Order or a European Preservation Order. Service providers must respond to these requests within specified timelines.

The e-Evidence Regulation came into effect across the EU on 18 August 2026.

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” to receive and respond to requests for electronic evidence, and to ensure they resource their addressee appropriately.

These obligations were transposed into Irish law by the Criminal Justice (International Cooperation on Electronic Evidence and Other Matters) Act 2026 and apply to service providers, as defined in the e-Evidence Directive, offering services to users in Ireland or the European Union, regardless of where they are based.

The Directive also requires service providers to designate an addressee for requests under Directive 2014/41/EU and under the Convention established by the Council in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European Union, on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between Member States of the Union.

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. It may be extended for a further 30 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. It is sent to a service provider along with a European Preservation Order Certificate (EPOC-PR).

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. It is sent to a service provider along with a European Production Order Certificate (EPOC). The requested data must be produced within 10 days, or within eight hours in emergency cases.

Under both Regulation (EU) 2023/1543 (“the e-Evidence Regulation”) and Directive (EU) 2023/1544 (“the e-Evidence Directive”) a ‘service provider’ is defined as:

“any natural or legal person that provides one or more of the following categories of services, with the exception of financial services referred to in Article 2(2), point (b), of Directive 2006/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council:

a) electronic communications services as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive (EU) 2018/1972;

Examples of services that fall under this category include internet access services, interpersonal communications services and services dedicated to the transmission of signals.

b) internet domain name and IP numbering services, such as IP address assignment, domain name registry, domain name registrar and domain name-related privacy and proxy services;

Examples of services that fall under this category include IP address assignment, domain name registries and registrars, and domain name-related privacy and proxy services

c) other information society services as referred to in Article 1(1), point (b), of Directive (EU) 2015/1535 that:

(i) enable their users 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, provided that the storage of data is a defining component of the service provided to the user;”

Examples of services that may fall under this definition include online marketplaces that allow consumers and businesses to communicate with each other, hosting services, including those provided via cloud computing, social media platforms, messaging apps and email, as well as online gaming and gambling platforms.

Under the e-Evidence Package, ‘offering services on the territory of a Member State’ is defined as:

“(a) enabling natural or legal persons in a Member State to use the services listed in point (1); and

(b) having a substantial connection, based on specific factual criteria, to the Member State referred to in point (a); such a substantial connection is to be considered to exist where the service provider has an establishment in that Member State, or, in the absence of such an establishment, where there is a significant number of users in that Member State, or where there is targeting of activities towards that Member State;”

While ‘offering services in the Union’ is defined as:

“(a) enabling natural or legal persons in a Member State to use the services listed in point (1); and

(b) having a substantial connection, based on specific factual criteria, to the Member State referred to in point (a); such a substantial connection is to be considered to exist where the service provider has an establishment in a Member State, or, in the absence of such an establishment, where there is a significant number of users in one or more Member States, or where there is targeting of activities towards one or more Member States.”

While each service provider must carry out their own assessment of the services they offer to determine whether they are covered by the e-Evidence Package, the following resource may be useful in understanding the above definitions: Eurojust’s SIRIUS Project publication titled ‘Service Providers Under Key Legal Frameworks on e-Evidence’.

We recommend that service providers determine whether they are in scope by reviewing the legal definitions set out in the e-Evidence Package, and seeking independent legal advice where necessary, to determine whether it 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.

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 to and complying with requests from law enforcement and judicial 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.

A “designated establishment” for the purposes of the e-Evidence Package 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.

Service providers covered by the e-Evidence Package who have one or more establishments in the EU should designate one or more of these as their “designated establishment”, provided they are established in an EU Member State taking part in the legal instrument for which it is designated.

A “legal representative” for the purposes of the e-Evidence Package 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.

Service providers covered by the e-Evidence Package who do not have any establishments in the EU, or whose establishment is in a country not taking part in the legal instrument concerned, should designate a “legal representative” in an EU Member State taking part in the legal instrument for which it is designated.

Service providers can designate an addressee in Ireland for the receipt of orders under the EU e-Evidence Package (European Production Order and European Preservation Order), and the Mutual Legal Assistance convention.

Service providers cannot designate an addressee in Ireland for the purposes of the European Investigation Order (EIO) Directive 2014/41/EU, as Ireland is not currently opted in to this Directive. Service providers will be required to designate an addressee in another EU Member State for the purposes of receiving orders under the EIO Directive.

When designating an addressee in Ireland, services providers should only select the following as the types of legal instruments that their Irish based addressee is responsible for:

• European Production Order and European Preservation Order
• Mutual Legal Assistance Request

Under the e-Evidence Package:

• An ‘issuing authority’ is the competent authority (i.e. a judicial authority - judge, court, public prosecutor - or a designated investigating authority with validation by a judicial authority) that 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 by their addressee. The enforcing authority is competent to receive notifications of a European Production Order transmitted by the issuing authority, and 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, to ensure compliance with its provisions, as well as to facilitate communication between authorities under the e-Evidence Package. The central authority will also 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. A central authority may also be designated under the e-Evidence Regulation to be responsible for the administrative transmission of e-Evidence orders and other related correspondence.

The Criminal Justice (International Cooperation on Electronic Evidence and Other Matters) Act 2026, which transposed the e-Evidence Directive, established Oifig an Stiúrthóra um Chomhar Idirnáisiúnta Ceartais Choiriúil or, in the English language, the Office of the Director of Criminal Justice International Cooperation.

The Director of Criminal Justice International Cooperation is the central and enforcing authority in Ireland. Further information on the Director’s functions can be found here.