Despite the fast growth of the amount of electronic data stored by Service Providers (SPs) and the increased demand for cross-border access to such data in criminal investigations and proceedings, judicial cooperation procedures have not adapted to this reality and are often still heavily paper-based and reliant on slow and/or non-secure communication channels. Against this background, various initiatives on digital platforms for cross-border transmission of judicial cooperation measures and electronic exchange of case-related data in criminal investigations have been promoted in recent years.

This document analyses the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) Secure Communication Platform. It provides information on the objectives, background and scope of the platform, which is intended to serve as a complementary and additional communication tool for cross‑border exchanges of strategic and operational information in relation to the investigation and prosecution of corruption cases.

The document was prepared within the framework of the SIRIUS Project. The SIRIUS Project has received funding from the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments under Contribution Agreement No PI/2020/417-500.