First international treaty to combat crime in cyberspace approved by Ministers' Deputies

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

First international treaty to combat crime in cyberspace approved by
Ministers' Deputies
 Council of Europe News Release

Strasbourg, 19.09.2001- The Council of Europe Ministers' Deputies
have just approved the Convention on Cybercrime.

The Deputies decided to present the Convention for formal adoption to
Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting in Strasbourg on 8 November, with
the opening for signature by member states taking place at an
international conference in Budapest at the end of November. It will
enter into force when five states, at least three of which are
members of the Council of Europe, have ratified it.

The Convention will be the first international treaty on crimes
committed via the Internet and other computer networks, dealing
particularly with infringements of copyright, computer-related fraud,
child pornography and violations of network security. It also
contains a series of powers and procedures such as the search of
computer networks and interception.

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 international co-operation.

The Convention is the product of four years of work by Council of
Europe experts, but also by the United States, Canada, Japan and
other countries which are not members of the organisation.

It will be supplemented by an additional protocol making any
publication of racist and xenophobic propaganda via computer networks
a criminal offence.

* * *

In 1997, the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers asked a
committee of experts to "draft a binding legal instrument" examining
the issues of offences, substantive criminal law, the use of coercive
powers - including at international level - and the problem of
jurisdiction over computer crimes.

In April 2000, the draft text was declassified - a very unusual step
in the drafting of an international legal text - and made public on
the Internet so as to garner the opinions of professionals and
network users.

In March 2001, the Parliamentary Assembly held a hearing of
international experts and then adopted an opinion on the draft text
at its April plenary session.
 http://press.coe.int/press2/press.asp?B=30,0,0,0,0&M=http://press.coe.int/cp/2001/646a(2001).htm

=====
David Goldstein
email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
phone: +61 418 228 605 (mobile)

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