Training activity: “Procedural and preventive overhearing. The limits of allowing overhearing. Secret photographic recording, in movies or in videos of people. Judicial practice.”

The School of Magistrates, in cooperation with IRZ, on 27 November, 2024, had at the School of Magistrates, the training activity on topic:  

“Procedural and preventive overhearing. The limits of allowing overhearing. Secret photographic recording, in movies or in videos of people. Judicial practice.”

This activity was directed by:  

Experts: 

Uwe Stark, judge, at the court of Siegen, Klodjan Braho, prosecutor, Florjan Kalaja, judge.

Facilitator: Gëzim Spahiu, prosecutor

The purpose of this training was: 

The increase of knowledge on preventive overhearing, specific measures undertaken in the context of the preventive activity of law enforcement agencies, consolidated treatment of procedural overhearing in the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure, recognition of problems and judicial practice related to procedural overhearing, as well as recognition with recent developments on the use as evidence of communications done through different platforms and applications such as  Sky ECC, Encrochat, etc. 

The training will be realized by combining presentations (up to 20 - 30 min) with the discussion of issues brought for discussion (self-study questions, questions, answers) and case law exercises & quizzes to encourage and realize the active interaction of participants.  

In this training activity were elaborated different topics, such as:  

• Preventive overhearing and specific measures that should be undertaken from the State Police in the context of its prevention activity;
• Types of overhearing in the Albanian criminal procedural system; 
• The standard of proof to permit/authorize procedural hearing; 
• Procedural hearing in report to proactive investigations. The use of data gained from confidential sources and criminal intelligence of judicial police as a starting point and as basis for the beginning of investigations and permission/authorization of overhearing;  
• Environmental overhearing done in private and public places. The definition of these notions under the light of the judicial practice of the High Court and of the ECtHR; 
• Overhearing with cross-border elements; 
• Evidencing force of the results of overhearing in the criminal process;
• Recordings done from private individuals and the difference from overhearing; 
• The use of the materials of overhearing in offenses or in other criminal proceedings; 
• Communications done through different platforms and applications such as Sky ECC, Encrochat etc., as well as legal aspects that are discussed in the direction of their admissibility as evidence in the criminal process. A view of the up to now Albanian judicial practice, as well as comparative view with the judicial practice of the international courts and of the courts of other countries, chiefly of those of the European Union; 
• The appeal versus decisions for the permission/authorization or not of the procedural overhearing and the trial that is done to the Court of Appeal. 

In this training activity participated, judges, prosecutors, police officers of the Republic of Albania.