Prime Minister Edi Rama has spoken about the proposed amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, focusing on how police and prosecutors will be able to access data stored on phones during an investigation.
Rama said that seizing a phone should not automatically give authorities the right to examine all of its contents. According to him, prior court authorization will be required to access, copy or process data from the device.
“A phone is no longer simply a means of communication. It is an archive of a person’s life — their communications, photographs, movements, finances and relationships. Therefore, the seizure of a device can no longer, under any circumstances, amount to an unlimited licence to read and view everything contained in that archive,” Rama said.
The Prime Minister explained that police and prosecutors will have the right to seize a device, but access to its contents will be subject to a court decision.
According to Rama, the court will specifically determine which device may be searched, the categories of data, the applications, the relevant time period and the search criteria. In urgent cases, the action is expected to be reviewed by a court within 48 hours.
Rama also stressed that any data obtained beyond the scope of the authorization will be considered inadmissible, while material unrelated to the investigation must be destroyed.
He also addressed wiretapping, saying that only communications relevant to the investigation should be transcribed, including those that may support the case of the person under investigation.
“The private lives of people with no connection to the criminal offence cannot be turned into material that can be used as an instrument of pressure or as content for media consumption,” the Prime Minister said.
The proposed amendments also cover the collection of biological samples and the storage of genetic profiles, which Rama said will be regulated more comprehensively. The new provisions would require informed consent or a court order, the presence of legal counsel, and the mandatory destruction of data following a final acquittal.
The Prime Minister said the aim of the amendments is to ensure that criminal proceedings have a clearly defined beginning, a clear scope and a verifiable conclusion.
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