The Introduction sketches the main technological and legal challenges LEAs face in criminal investigations when seeking to collect electronic evidence in the digital era. It gives an overview of the relevant legal framework at EU, Council of Europe and international level, including recent developments such as the e-Evidence Regulation and the Second Additional Protocol to the Cybercrime Convention, and identifies some missing pieces of the puzzle. Next, the chapter explains the main research objectives of this handbook, before presenting its overall structure and introducing the subsequent chapters.

The Conclusion describes how, while the handbook started with the main technological and legal challenges regarding collection of digital evidence, the research shows that even though the challenges are shared by legal systems across the globe, the answers are not. Legal solutions to similar problems are fragmented, disparate and often unsatisfactory. Even if technology-neutral solutions are preferable to make sure hard-fought EU legislation and international agreements can stand the test of time, the legal reality appears to be quite different. Despite positive recent legal developments at EU and international levels, future approximation of national approaches seems highly desirable to enable LEAs to conduct effective criminal investigations to protect society and its citizens from new criminal phenomena. At the same time, protection of citizens’ fundamental rights should be reinforced, not just at the national level but in a cross-border context, considering that many criminal investigations now reach beyond national borders. Global initiatives are, however, hampered by tensions between democratic and non-democratic states, making a one-size-fits-all solution inadequate.