ECBA Autumn Conference 2005, Vienna, Austria
30 September - 1 October 2005
Theme: 'East meets West"
The Autumn Conference in Austria kicked off on Friday afternoon with a presentation by Joseph Phillip Bischof on the procedural consequences of the Operation Spring case. The key focus was the use of covert surveillance methods by the police and the admissibility of such material in court. This was followed by a forum discussion on police practices in Austria and how they are dealt with by the judicial system. The idea of a joint conference with the Austrian Criminal Bar Association proved positive and seminal.
On Saturday morning Rob Blekxtoon and James MacGuill gave an update on the Council Framework Decision on the European enforcement order and transfer of sentenced persons between Member States of the European Union. Speakers from different jurisdictions (Manfred Ainedter and Linda Woolley) spoke on the role of defence lawyers across Europe followed by an open floor discussion concerning the topics, chaired by Kai Hart-Hoenig.
The morning session ended with updates on different ECBA projects. Holger Matt reported on the general work of the ECBA Legal Development Committee and introduced the ‘The European Criminal Law Ombudsman’ – Project what will be considered in a seminar in Trier on the 7th of April 2006, conjointly organized by the ECBA, the ERA and the CCBE. The European Arrest Warrant Project (www.ecba-eaw.org) was presented by Marelle Attinger, Han Jahae spoke on the China Project. Scott Crosby gave an overview on the Financial Crimes Working Group and George Gebbie presented the Forensic Science Working Group.
In the afternoon speakers from Belgium (Peter Engels and Hilde Wuytack), France (Vincent Asselineau), Germany (Werner Leitner) and The Netherlands (Kerem Canatan) presented practical experience in relation to the European Arrest Warrant. The instructive discussion was chaired by Han Jahae. The conference concluded with the national delegates reports of recent developments in their national criminal law. This constant part of the ECBA conferences proved again to be exceptionally interesting.
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