European Investigation Order and Joint Investigation Team

The present work is a comparative analysis between the EIO and the JIT, which is valuable from a theoretical point of view. Understanding the legal nature and functions of the EIO and the JIT – their points of contact, strengths and weaknesses – is essential for creating a clearer vision of the current legal mechanisms for international cooperation in criminal matters. Such an analysis puts one of the missing pieces in the puzzle of an otherwise complex picture of international legal cooperation. Although there are still uncertainties among practitioners as to when and which is the most appropriate instrument to resort to when in need of assistance from another state, the regulations created in the last two decades of new and modern instruments in the field are definitely a step forward in clarifying the overall situation.