The most important and rapid developments have been in mobile telephones and Internet connection. In short, it would be possible to know everything about his private life. That is a long way off, but simply mentioning it should remind us that the protection of privacy is one of the fundamental norms of a democratic society, and that the interception of telecommunication must remain the exception. On police cooperation the Commission does not have the right of initiative and this proposal was originally put forward by the UK and espoused by the Austrian Presidency of the Council. They are more in the nature of recommendations.
National legislation applies.
Article 8 of the Convention lays down provisions concerning the protection of private life. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has produced a considerable amount of case law restricting phone-tapping as an extension of the protection of privacy. The Registrar's office of the European Court of Human Rights has told the rapporteur that the ECHR has not yet ruled on the violation of the secrecy of correspondence in respect of electronic mail. The proposed resolution is far from perfect. As this area closely impinges on individual freedoms and the protection of privacy it would have been preferable to include an exclusive list of the technologies involved, and be prepared to update it at regular intervals.