The EU Law Enforcement Directive (LED): A Commentary

The Law Enforcement Directive 2016/680 (LED) is the first legal instrument in the EU which comprehensively regulates the use of personal data by law enforcement authorities, creating a minimum standard of privacy protection across the EU. Together with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it stands at the heart of the legal reform of the EU's data protection law. Although it was adopted at the same time as the GDPR, the LED has not received the same scholarly attention, despite its significant impact and controversial implementation in Member States.

The EU Law Enforcement Directive (LED): A Commentary addresses this by providing an article-by-article commentary on the Directive. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars, regulators, and practitioners in the EU data protection field, it offers a detailed analysis of its legal provisions, drawing on relevant case law and scholarship to illuminate the key aspects and intricacies of each provision. It analyses national transpositions of the LED while taking into account the GDPR and the regulations on the processing of personal data by EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. For further context, it includes introductory chapters on the background and evolution of the Directive, the Council of Europe, and the impact of Brexit on the LED.

This comprehensive volume is an excellent resource for anyone seeking authoritative guidance on the application and interpretation of LED provisions, especially judges, legal practitioners, prosecutors, competent authorities, and academics.

Eleni Kosta, Professor Technology Law and Human Rights, Tilburg University,Franziska Boehm, Professor of Immaterial Rights at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology FIZ-Karlsruhe, Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure, Fiz Karlsruhe

Eleni Kosta is full Professor of Technology Law and Human Rights at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT, Tilburg University, the Netherlands). Eleni is conducting research on human rights with a focus on privacy and data protection, specialising in electronic communications and new technologies. She has been involved in numerous EU research projects. In 2014 Eleni was awarded a personal research grant for research on privacy and surveillance by the Dutch Research Organisation (VENI/NWO). She is member of the Cyprus Council of Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications (KY.S.A.T.S.) and observer to the Europol Financial Intelligence Public Private Partnership (EFIPPP). She is a member of editorial boards of academic journals (EDPL, IRLCT etc.) and conferences and workshops scientific and organising committees (CPDP, ISP etc.). Eleni also collaborates as associate with timelex.

Franziska Boehm is full Professor of Immaterial Rights at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and FIZ-Karlsruhe, Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure. Franziska is conducting research on privacy and data protection, IP- and IT-law. She has been involved in numerous EU and national research projects and is an expert in third states data transfer (EU-US). She advises national as well as EU institutions on questions of privacy and data protection. She is a member of editorial boards of academic journals (EDPL) and conferences and workshops scientific and organising committees.