Council of Europe Draft Convention on Cybercrime

Opened to signature on November 23, 2001, and signed by 33 states after the Council recognized that many Internet crimes could not be prosecuted with existing legislation—typically local in jurisdiction. This was the first global legislative attempt of its kind to set standards on the definition of cybercrime and to develop policies and procedures governing international cooperation to combat cybercrime.

The treaty was to enter into force when five states, at least three of which were members of the Council of Europe, had ratified it. The United States, as a participant in the drafting of the treaty, was invited to ratify the treaty. In many adopting states, ratification of the treaty would require amendments to national law. President Bush transmitted the convention to the United States Senate on November 17, 2003, for ratification. The Convention was adopted at the 110th Session of the Committee of Ministers in Vilnius on May 3, 2002.

The Convention requires countries ratifying it to adopt similar criminal laws on cracking, Intellectual Property Rights infringements, Internet-related fraud, and Internet-related child pornography. It also contains provisions on investigative powers and procedures, including the search of computer networks and the interception of communications. In particular, the Convention requires cross-border law enforcement cooperation in searches and seizures as well as extradition. The Convention has recently been supplemented by an additional protocol, making any publication of racist propaganda via the Internet a criminal offence.

See Also: Cybercrime and Cybercriminals.