Remote Search of IT System in Polish Legislation and Its Importance in Fight Against Cybercrime

The issues of remote access by law enforcement authorities to data in remote IT systems are extremely difficult and controversial. The literature stresses that such activities threaten the right to privacy of the parties involved in the proceedings and the right to a fair trial. However, on the other hand, the dynamic development of new technologies and the need to combat cybercrime effectively require that law enforcement and judicial authorities make use of adequate legal and technical solutions. One such a solution may be a remote search of an IT system, which exists in many European countries, including Belgium, Romania and Germany. In the case of Poland, a search of an IT system as a procedural activity is only allowed in respect of a system in which the person concerned is a dispatcher or user. The Polish legislator has not implemented procedural provisions enabling remote searches via the Internet. In case of the necessity of a system remote search, it will be necessary to conduct a parallel search. Another way of obtaining remote access to data and IT systems may be new methods of covert surveillance, which have been introduced into the Police Act. The new regulations generate a lot of interest among Polish police officers, but at the same time they provoke a lot of discussion. The diversity of the existing approach leads to the development of a uniform interpretation of the introduced regulations, which has been adopted as the subject of this study.