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Open research questions in European Criminal Justice and Data Protection

103 gap statements mined from European Criminal Justice and Data Protection papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,616 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on European Criminal Justice and Data Protection? See the ranked Social Science journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • Balancing the need for evidence with the right to a fair trial.

    Testimony of Co-Offenders in the Light of the Right to a Fair Trial: Comparative Legal Aspects and Standards of the European Court of Human Rights · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to regulate the rules on the examination and use of testimony of a co-offender. The current legal framework does not provide clear guidelines on the use of testimony of co-accused persons.

    Testimony of Co-Offenders in the Light of the Right to a Fair Trial: Comparative Legal Aspects and Standards of the European Court of Human Rights · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to analyze the EPPO's organization and operation to determine its impact on national sovereignty.

    ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКА ПРОКУРАТУРА (EPPO): НАДНАЦІОНАЛЬНЕ КРИМІНАЛЬНЕ ПЕРЕСЛІДУВАННЯ VS. НАЦІОНАЛЬНИЙ СУВЕРЕНІТЕТ · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a coherent legal framework to address the accountability gap poses challenges for the protection of migrants at sea. The need for effective investigations into deaths or near-fatal accidents poses challenges for States.

    Charting Uncharted Waters: Unravelling Extraterritorial Duties under Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR · 2026 · DOI

  • The precise contours of States' positive obligations under Article 2 and Article 3 of the ECHR in the context of shipwrecks involving migrants remain contested. The accountability gap in cases of maritime distress needs to be addressed. The protection of migrants at sea needs to be strengthened.

    Charting Uncharted Waters: Unravelling Extraterritorial Duties under Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper highlights the need to examine the implications of this doctrine on the principle of legality in criminal law.

    Chronology of events as a refutation of allegations of participation of the Serbian leadership in a "joint criminal enterprise" in Bosnia and Herzegovina · 2026 · DOI

  • It remains to be seen whether the Italian Constitutional Court will decide on the matter and whether it will be possible to apply the legal institution of the ‘adoption in particular cases’,49 as was previously permitted. VI A WORRYING PRECEDENT Overall, Italy’s Law No 169 has wide-ranging implications that remain to be fully explored.

    Italy’s 2024 Universal Criminalisation of Surrogacy: Heightened Risk of Statelessness? · 2026 · DOI

  • The relationship between EU law and national law in the area of nationality is not clearly defined. The boundaries between the protection of the Union’s values and the sovereignty of Member States are not well established.

    Battling Member States’ Competence in the Field of Citizenship: The Case of Commission v Malta · 2026 · DOI

  • It highlights the need for adequate remuneration to ensure judicial independence.

    Judicial independence as an institutional safeguard of the exercise of individuals’ fundamental and procedural rights · 2026 · DOI

  • The Court must balance the need to protect human rights with the need to address the migration crisis.

    Awaiting the European Court of Human Rights’ Judgment on Pushbacks on the Border with Belarus · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a need to assess the evolution of the Court's case law on the migration crisis. The paper aims to predict the Court's upcoming ruling on pushbacks on the border with Belarus.

    Awaiting the European Court of Human Rights’ Judgment on Pushbacks on the Border with Belarus · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a unified scientific identity in the current Criminal Code. The uneven application of terminology and principles. The necessity for a new code that addresses the deficiencies of the current code.

    The Importance of Adopting a New Criminal Code in the Republic of Albania. A Summary Analysis of the Criminal Code Project · 2026 · DOI

  • The concept of effective competition is a core objective of competition policy, but a satisfactory description is still lacking. The legal frameworks upon which the efficacy of interim measures relies are not well understood. The application of interim measures in European antitrust enforcement is not well studied.

    The Dual Nature of Interim Measures in European Antitrust Enforcement: Administrative Implementation and Judicial Oversight · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap between internationally established standards on the use of force by law enforcement agencies and the actual practice of their observance.

    The State’s Use of Force in Situations of Mass Protests: current issues of proportionality · 2026 · DOI

  • It is concluded that the existing system of international legal proportionality standards, despite its conceptual completeness, is insufficiently implemented at the national level, and that judicial control over «soft» forms of coercion, such as kettling and crowd-dispersal means, remains vulnerable to excessive judicial deference to law enforcement discretion.

    The State’s Use of Force in Situations of Mass Protests: current issues of proportionality · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a readable record of objectives, alternatives, and supporting evidence in omnibus legislation. The need to develop contestability as a legal infrastructure for accountability in EU lawmaking.

    Cutting Red Tape, Cutting the Record: Contestability, Impact Assessments, and Judicial Review in the EU’s Omnibus Reform Strategy · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for training on digitalisation and e-evidence in the field of EU criminal justice. Judicial training on digitalisation is not keeping pace with the accelerating digitalisation of justice systems. There is a significant room for improvement in the use of digital solutions in justice systems.

    The EU Electronic Evidence legislative package: legal innovation and training requirements · 2026 · DOI

  • The war crimes trials in Romania are under-researched compared to other post-WWII trials in Europe. There is a lack of analysis on the significance of the war crimes trials in postwar Romania.

    “These Are not Ordinary Criminals!” The First War Crimes Trial at the People's Tribunal and Its Implications in Post-Holocaust Romania · 2025 · DOI

  • The need to balance national security concerns with human rights obligations.

    REFUGEE STATUS IN THE LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION · 2024 · DOI

  • Although the iudicia subalterna were „short-lived“ because the entire judicial system known as Novus ordo or Justitia Josephina collapsed in 1790, shortly after the death of Joseph II, the more in-depth examination of the josefinist first-instance courts is still considered a research field that has not been fully explored yet.

    “Two-faced Courts” – Some Key Features of New Subordinate Courts (iudicia subalterna) in Hungary and Transylvania (1787 – 1790) · 2024 · DOI

  • The violation of human dignity may serve as the initial cause of a chain of subsequent infringements of other human rights. The deprivation of liberty inevitably causes psychological suffering. The protection of human dignity is crucial in the field of criminal enforcement law.

    Respect for Human Dignity – The Fundamental Principle of Romanian and European Penal Enforcement Law · 2026 · DOI

  • In this context, post-1989 research on communist and early post-communist Romania focused primarily on memory studies, as witness accounts abounded while archival sources were scarce, with emphasis on the recollections of those who suffered under communism.

    Post-Communist Anti-Communism in RomaniaSecret Police Files, Transitional Justice and Production of Knowledge · 2024 · DOI

  • The tension between national welfare autonomy and supranational guarantees of equality and nondiscrimination. The gap between legal status and social inclusion.

    From Legal Status to Social Inclusion: Third-Country Nationals and the Right to Welfare in Europe · 2026 · DOI

  • The implementation of the new Criminal Code. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the new code. The identification of areas for further improvement.

    The Importance of Adopting a New Criminal Code in the Republic of Albania. A Summary Analysis of the Criminal Code Project · 2026 · DOI

  • Accessing electronic evidence stored on private infrastructure within foreign or unknown jurisdictions. Keeping pace with the accelerating digitalisation of justice systems. Acquiring the necessary digital skills to handle new technologies.

    The EU Electronic Evidence legislative package: legal innovation and training requirements · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in European Criminal Justice and Data Protection

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) There is a need to regulate the rules on the examination and use of testimony of a co-offender (“Testimony of Co-Offenders in the Light of the Right to a Fair Trial:…”, 2026); (2) The lack of a coherent legal framework to address the accountability gap poses challenges for the protection of migrants at sea (“Charting Uncharted Waters: Unravelling Extraterritorial Duties under Articles 2…”, 2026); (3) It remains to be seen whether the Italian Constitutional Court will decide on the matter and whether it will be possible to apply the legal institution of the ‘adoption in particular cases’,49 as was previously permitted (“Italy’s 2024 Universal Criminalisation of Surrogacy: Heightened Risk of…”, 2026); (4) The boundaries between the protection of the Union’s values and the sovereignty of Member States are not well established (“Battling Member States’ Competence in the Field of Citizenship: The Case of…”, 2026); (5) The lack of a unified scientific identity in the current Criminal Code (“The Importance of Adopting a New Criminal Code in the Republic of Albania. A…”, 2026). 103 gap statements have been mined from European Criminal Justice and Data Protection papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,616 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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