EU Creates Data Base To Identify Non-EU Citizens With Criminal Convictions In Member States
The Official Journal of the European Union has published Regulation (EU) 2019/816, of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 17 April 2019, establishing the creation of a centralised information system containing the identification of those non-EU citizens that have been convicted by binding ruling in EU Member States.
The Regulation will come into force on June 11 and grants States a three-year term to adapt their communication systems.
The implementation of this data base complements the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) so that courts and other operators with access to criminal information on EU citizens can also be aware of the identity of those convicted in other Member States from third countries, without nationality or whose nationality is unknown.
Once this system is operational, Spain’s Ministry of Justice, at the request of courts or such other national public bodies that may so request, may consult the data base which will automatically provide information on those Member States in which the citizen whose details have been requested has a criminal conviction, the Spanish government said. Subsequently, it can request the criminal record from this Member State as is currently done in respect of EU citizens.
The system is comprised of alphanumeric identity details and fingerprints, and facial recognition may be incorporated in the system and used in the future.