No abstract

The article discusses the rationales for excluding illegally obtained evidence in criminal cases starting from two recent judgments of the European Court of Justice on mass data collection. The two decisions concern the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of the retention of metadata in breach of EU law. According to the ECJ, exclusion may be justified by on the basis of the principle of effectiveness and the consequent need to protect the suspects’ rights (protective principle). Based on its analysis of these recent cases, the article demonstrates how important the choice of a rationale for excluding evidence is. It discusses the different exclusionary principles that could be adopted and illustrates their practical implications. Finally, the article advances a proposal of a cascade system of principles for exclusion of evidence in the context of criminal proceedings in Europe.

No abstract

The high prevalence of tobacco smoking in prison, and certain aspects inherent in prison culture make smoking in that environment particularly difficult to regulate. Over the last decade, the UK government has adopted and sought to implement gradually its plan to make all prisons smoke-free nationwide. The UK Supreme Court recently ruled inBlackthat the Health Act 2006, which prohibits smoking in most enclosed public spaces, does not bind the Crown and consequently does not apply to public prisons. Both developments have implications for the human rights protection of smoking and non-smoking prisoners. This paper considers how English smoking and non-smoking prisoners’ (human) rights are currently protected, and what the legal implications are of a complete ban on smoking in English prisons. The paper reflects on whether an indoor smoking ban might strike a better balance between the competing rights and interests of smoking and non-smoking prisoners than a complete ban.