Irish High Court Issues Important Decision On Conduct Of Electronic Searches During Dawn Raid

On 5 April 2016, Justice Barrett of the High Court handed down an important decision concerning the conduct of electronic investigations by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ("CCPC") in Ireland. 

The case arose out of a dawn raid conducted by the CCPC in May 2015 on the premises of Irish Cement Limited, located in Louth, Ireland.  The company under investigation appealed the decision of the CCPC to electronically extract a copy of the complete email inbox of a senior employee.  In part, the company sought a declaration that the CCPC acted ultra vires and outside the scope of the search warrant in seizing certain information.  In a 71-page decision, the Court agreed to grant a declaration that, on balance, certain materials seized by the CCPC during its dawn raid were not covered by the terms of the search warrant – and were accordingly unauthorised.