Prof. Dr. Lorena Bachmaier – Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies

Prof. Dr. Lorena Bachmaier

Complutense University of Madrid
Law

External Senior Fellow (Marie S. Curie FCFP Fellow)
October 2017 – June 2018

Last Update: 31.08.2018

Curriculum Vitae

Professor Lorena Bachmaier Winter obtained her doctorate in law in 1994 at Complutense University Faculty of Law, Madrid (awarded the best doctoral thesis of the year in public law by her university). She also holds a degree in political science (1989, International Relations) from the same University, where she has taught criminal procedure, civil procedure, justice systems and arbitration. She has been a Full professor at Complutense University since 2009. Since 2004, Prof. Bachmaier has also taught a comparative law course for the summer law school of Saint Louis University Law School, Missouri/USA (Madrid Campus).

She has written extensively on a variety of subjects related to procedure and human rights and lectured at numerous universities and governmental agencies in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Prof. Bachmaier is an ex-fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and visiting scholar at the Universities of Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford and at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg. Honorary Professor and Distinguished Visitor by the University of La Rioja, Argentina, Premiul Excelentia from the University Nicolae Titulescu of Romania and in 2015 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by San Pedro University, Perú. In 2015, she was also recipient of the “Luis Portero Award” for the best legal study on fundamental rights in Spain.

Prof. Bachmaier has also broad experience as international expert in the fields of the rule of law and human rights as well as in criminal justice reforms in Eastern European countries. In 2013, Prof. Bachmaier was appointed as chair of the Working Group on Transnational Organised Crime of the Council of Europe.

Selected Publications

Terrorismo, proceso penal y derechos fundamentales (ed.) [Terrorism, Criminal Procedure and Human Rights], 298 pp. Marcial Pons, Madrid, 2012.
Proceso penal y sistemas acusatorios (ed.) [Criminal procedure and accusatorial systems], Madrid, 2008, 198 pp.
The potential contribution of a European Public Prosecutor’s Office at the light of the Proposal for a Regulation of 17 July 2013, European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 23 (2015), pp.121-144.
European investigation order and cross-border investigation of tax offences: mutual recognition and grounds for refusal, EuCLR (European Criminal Law Review) 1/2017, vol. 7, pp. 46-66.
Remote search of computers under the new Spanish Law of 2015: proportionality principle and the protection of privacy, ZStW (Zeitschrift für die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft), 2017, 129(1), pp.1-27.

FRIAS Project

International Security, Privacy and Criminal Investigation: a Human Rights Approach.

The fight against terrorism and other forms of transnational organised crime (TOC) is a priority in the European Union. Identifying radicalized persons that can become potential terrorist seems to be necessary as well as detecting connections between terrorist groups and other organised criminal groups requires resorting to pro-active led intelligence and surveillance activities.
This research project will analyse, from a comparative point of view, the constitutional and legal problems relating to the gathering, transfer and admissibility of such information gathered in another member State, by intelligence units as well as by law enforcement officers. Special attention shall be paid to the questions regarding the use mass surveillance devices and the cross-border remote search of computers, due to its diverse regulation (or lack of regulation) in the different EU member states. Ultimately, the goal is to contribute to improve the safeguards to the right to privacy of the individuals and the respect for the fair trial rights, whilst strengthening the international cooperation in gathering and transferring electronic data and ensuring its admissibility as evidence within the EU Area of Freedom Security and Justice.