CyberLaw Blog

Archive for the ‘CyberCrime Convention’ Category

UN split on cybercrime conventions: “A United Nations committee on international crime prevention is split on how to deal with cybercrime. Some countries want the existing European convention to be adopted worldwide, while others want a completely new agreement to be created.“

(Via OUT-LAW News.)

Directorate of Communication – Cybercrime lawmakers call for worldwide implementation of the Budapest Convention

Press release – 254(2010)
Cybercrime lawmakers call for worldwide implementation of the Budapest Convention

Strasbourg, 25.03.2010 – At its 5th annual conference on cybercrime, the Council of Europe called for a worldwide implementation of its Convention on Cybercrime to sustain legislative reforms already underway in many countries and a global capacity-building initiative to combat web-based crimes and enhance trust in information and communication technologies.

Participants underlined the need to make the best possible use of existing tools, instruments, good practices and initiatives. They recommended that a global action plan be launched by the Council of Europe and the United Nations to get a clearer picture of criminal justice capacities and urgent needs, mobilise resources, provide support and assess progress made.

‘The UN Crime Congress in April 2010 will be an opportunity to reinforce our global response to the global threat of cybercrime and cyberterrorism. I think we will have the best chance to succeed if we unite around one international instrument which already exists – namely the Council of Europe Cybercrime Convention,’ said Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, speaking at the opening of the conference.

Countries worldwide have been turning to the Budapest Convention since its adoption in 2001. During the conference, Portugal announced the ratification of the Convention and Argentina has made a request for accession.

The conference also highlighted the need to further establish dynamic partnerships between the public and private sectors and their shared responsibility in ensuring security and protecting human rights on the Internet. In this context, the conference proposed the establishment of a contact list for enhanced co-operation between law enforcement and industry.

Last but not least, participants called on ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to strengthen its oversight role of the Internet domain name registration process in order to allow both the protection of private data of individual registrants (in particular in the WHOIS database) as well as the opportunity for law enforcement to use the database to fight cybercrime and cyberterrorism.

The Council of Europe will continue to address the issue of ‘cloud computing’ and intends to ensure that globally trusted privacy and data protection standards and policies are put in place, and that both its Cybercrime Convention and its Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data are applied more widely and efficiently. A human rights and privacy dimension should be brought in the discussions of next year’s conference on cybercrime.

Held in Strasbourg from 23 to 25 March, the conference brought together 300 cybercrime experts from some 60 countries, the private sector and international organisations to also discuss ways of combating online child pornography, mapping networks and initiatives as well as training for judges and prosecutors.

The conclusions of the conference will be made available at: www.coe.int/cybercrime.

CoE – Countries Move Forward on Cybercrime Treaty: “(IDG News Service)
Countries are ratifying the only global cybercrime treaty slower than expected, but many are closer to implementing it, a senior Council of Europe official said. The Convention on Cybercrime, adopted in 2001, defines legal guidelines for countries seeking to establish effective laws against computer crime. The Council of Europe (COE), an organization composed of 47 European countries, has spearheaded a drive to help countries either create computer crime laws or bring existing ones in line with the treaty. So far 24 countries have ratified it, with Germany being the latest one. Twenty-three others have signed it but not ratified it. The COE was hoping that as many as 40 countries would have ratified it by the year, but the pace has been slower than expected, said Alexander Seger, head of the COE’s economic crime division.”

(Via QuickLinks Update.)

OECD ministerial meeting in Seoul, South Korea
Council of Europe calls upon governments to sign up to its Cybercrime Convention

Strasbourg, 12.06.2008 – Europe’s primary human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, will participate in the OECD ministerial meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy in Seoul, South Korea, from 17-18 June. At the meeting, Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, will encourage governments to accede to the Council of Europe’s Convention on Cybercrime – the only internationally binding instrument against cybercrime.

“Any successful campaign against cybercrime will have to be as global as cybercrime itself. The Council of Europe Convention provides the platform for such global co-operation, and this is why other countries should join as soon as possible. From the outset, the Convention was conceived as a global instrument. It is not only a European treaty, it is a treaty drafted in Europe to serve the world,” said Mrs de Boer-Buquicchio, who will address the round table on “Building Confidence” on 18 June.

The Deputy Secretary General will also have bilateral meetings with the South Korean Vice-Minister of Justice, Sung-woo Moon, and the Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, Pier Carlo Padoan.

Notes
* The Convention on Cybercrime has been signed by a total of 44 countries and is a source of inspiration for many others looking to amend their legislation, such as Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and the Philippines.

* On 3 April, the Council of Europe adopted guidelines to help law enforcement bodies and Internet service providers improve cooperation on the investigation of cybercrime and fight web-based crimes such as child pornography, identity theft and other forms of fraud, as well as denial of service attacks (see www.coe.int/cybercrime).

* The recently-adopted Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse also offers states a valuable new tool for preventing and combating every kind of violation of children’s fundamental rights, including grooming (the manipulation of children by adults online for sexual purposes).

* The Council of Europe will contribute to the next meeting of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum to be held in Hyderabad (India) in December 2008.

Further information on the Council of Europe’s activities is available at www.coe.int

For more information on the OECD meeting, visit www.oecd.org/FutureInternet or www.OECDMinisterialSeoul2008.org.