Convention on Cybercrime

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"Budapest Convention" redirects here. For the 1877 Austro-Hungarian and Russian agreement on the future of the Balkans, see Budapest Convention 1877.
Convention on Cybercrime
CET 185
File:Ratified Convention on Cybercrime.svg
Countries that have ratified the treaty (in red) and countries that have signed but not ratified it (in orange)
Signed23 November 2001
LocationBudapest
Effective1 July 2004
ConditionRatification by 3 Council of Europe States
Signatories50
Parties76
DepositarySecretary General of the Council of Europe
LanguagesEnglish and French

The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or the Budapest Convention, is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime (cybercrime) harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations.[1][2] It was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, with the active participation of the Council of Europe's observer states Canada, Japan, the Philippines, South Africa and the United States. The Convention and its Explanatory Report was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its 109th Session on 8 November 2001. It was opened for signature in Budapest, on 23 November 2001 and it entered into force on 1 July 2004.[3] As of April 2023, 68 states have ratified the convention, while a further two states (Ireland and South Africa) have signed the convention but not ratified it.[4] Since it entered into force, important countries like India have declined to adopt the Convention on the grounds that they did not participate in its drafting. Russia opposes the Convention, stating that adoption would violate Russian sovereignty, and has usually refused to cooperate in law enforcement investigations relating to cybercrime. It is the first multilateral legally binding instrument to regulate cybercrime.[5] Since 2018, India has been reconsidering its stand on the Convention after a surge in cybercrime, though concerns about sharing data with foreign agencies remain.[6] On 1 March 2006, the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime came into force. Those States that have ratified the additional protocol are required to criminalize the dissemination of racist and xenophobic material through computer systems, as well as threats and insults motivated by racism or xenophobia.[7] On 8 August 2024, a UN committee approved the first global treaty on cybercrime despite significant opposition from human rights groups and tech companies. The treaty included provisions to criminalize unauthorized access to information systems, online child exploitation, and the distribution of non-consensual explicit content. However, critics argued that it compromised human rights and press freedom, with concerns over data privacy and expanded definitions of cybercrime.[8]

Objectives

Its main objective, set out in the preamble, is to pursue a common criminal policy aimed at the protection of society against cybercrime, especially by adopting appropriate legislation and fostering. The Convention aims principally at:

  • Harmonizing the domestic criminal substantive law elements of offenses and connected provisions in the area of cyber-crime
  • Providing for domestic criminal procedural law powers necessary for the investigation and prosecution of such offenses as well as other offenses committed by means of a computer system or evidence in relation to which is in electronic form
  • Setting up a fast and effective regime of international cooperation

It also sets out such procedural law issues as expedited preservation of stored data, expedited preservation and partial disclosure of traffic data, production order, search and seizure of computer data, real-time collection of traffic data, and interception of content data. In addition, the Convention contains a provision on a specific type of trans-border access to stored computer data which does not require mutual assistance (with consent or where publicly available) and provides for the setting up of a 24/7 network for ensuring speedy assistance among the Signatory Parties. Further, as conditions and safeguards, the Convention requires the provision for adequate protection of human rights and liberties, including rights arising pursuant to obligations under European Convention on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other applicable international human rights instruments, and shall incorporate the principle of proportionality.[9] The Convention is the product of four years of work by European and international experts. It has been supplemented by an Additional Protocol making any publication of racist and xenophobic propaganda via computer networks a criminal offense, similar to Criminal Libel laws. Currently, cyber terrorism is also studied in the framework of the Convention.

Accession by the United States

Its ratification by the United States Senate by unanimous consent in August 2006 was both praised and condemned.[10] The United States became the 16th nation to ratify the convention.[11][12] The Convention entered into force in the United States on 1 January 2007. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said: "While balancing civil liberty and privacy concerns, this treaty encourages the sharing of critical electronic evidence among foreign countries so that law enforcement can more effectively investigate and combat these crimes".[13] The Electronic Privacy Information Center said:

Accession by other non–Council of Europe states

The Convention was signed by Canada, Japan, the United States, and South Africa on 23 November 2001, in Budapest. As of August 2024, the non–Council of Europe states that have ratified the treaty are Argentina, Australia, Benin, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Grenada, Israel, Japan, Kiribati, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Tunisia and the United States. Although Egypt has not signed off on the Convention, Egyptian President el-Sisi's government in 2018 has legislated two major computer-crime related laws. Targeting social networking service such as Facebook and Twitter, the legislation criminalizes fake news and terrorism, setting a flag on accounts which carry more than 5,000 subscribers or followers. The early legislation had been criticized by Amnesty International, thus websites can appeal to the courts within 7 days of blacklisting.[14][15][16][relevant?] In fact India too "was reconsidering its position on becoming a member of the Budapest Convention because of the surge in cyber crime, especially after a push for digital India."[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Convention on Cybercrime, Budapest, 23 November 2001.
  2. ↑ Star, Arizona Daily. "All Headlines". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  3. ↑ Staff. The COE International Convention On Cybercrime Before Its Entry Into Force Archived 2016-09-25 at the Wayback Machine, UNESCO, January–March 2004
  4. ↑ "Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 185". CoE Treaty Office.
  5. ↑ "Assets" (PDF). April 30, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-04-30.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Home Ministry pitches for Budapest Convention on cyber security". January 18, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Frequently asked questions and answers Council of Europe Convention on cybercrime Archived February 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine", by the United States Department of Justice
  8. ↑ Desmarais, Anna (9 August 2024). "UN committee approves first cybercrime treaty despite widespread opposition". Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  9. ↑ Convention on Cybercrime, Article 15, 1
  10. ↑ McCullagh, Declan; Anne Broache (4 August 2006). "Senate Ratifies Controversial Cybercrime Treaty". Cnet.
  11. ↑ Anderson, Nate (4 August 2006). ""World's Worst Internet Law" ratified by Senate". Ars Technica.
  12. ↑ Kaplan, Dan (4 August 2006). "Senate Ratification of Cybercrime Treaty Praised". SC Magazine.
  13. ↑ "Independent News & Media online".
  14. ↑ "Egypt president ratifies law imposing internet controls". www.dailyjournal.net. Archived from the original on 2018-08-18.
  15. ↑ "StackPath". www.dailynewsegypt.com. 18 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Egypt president ratifies law imposing internet controls | FOX13". www.fox13memphis.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-18.

Further reading

External links

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