Octopus Cybercrime Community

Current cybercrime legislation is based on Telecommunications Act 2006.

A draft Bill for a Cybercrime Act was produced in 2015 but had not been adopted. While the Bill contained some important provisions to tackle cybercrime, it was recognised that it was not aligned with international best practice New legislation was developed with the Council of Europe’s support in 2018, in compliance with the Budapest Convention. The Bill was last included in the second Ordinary Session of Parliament scheduled for December 2019.

With regard to Title 1 offences under the Budapest Convention, Offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data and systems, there are no direct analogues within the existing laws of Vanuatu. The Bill developed with the Council of Europe’s support in 2018 contains proposals for each of the Budapest offences.

With regard to the Title 2, 3 and 4 offences under the Budapest Convention, the provisions of the Bill developed with the Council of Europe’s support in 2018, need to be considered together with existing provisions within the laws of Vanuatu, especially in the Penal Code, as amended.

The investigatory powers detailed in the Criminal Procedure Code and the Police Powers Act No. 37 of 2017 should be included in a single statutory instrument, rather than spread across different statutes and the Bill developed with the Council of Europe’s support in 2018, would propose amendments to the Police Powers Act.

The Police Powers Act No. 37 of 2017, section 5 uses the following words "that the means are proportionate to the end, that is, that the proposed surveillance is justified by the social harm of the suspected offence against which it is directed."

• Penal Code
• Criminal Procedure Code
• Electronic Transactions Act
• Police Powers Act No. 37 of 2017
• Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000
• Telecommunications Act 2006
• Extradition Act No. 16 of 2002
• Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters No. 14 of 2002

The applicable laws in Vanuatu are the Extradition Act No. 16 of 2000 and the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters No. 14 of 2002 (both as amended).

As regards the Extradition Act No. 16 of 2000 - the provisions are aligned with the Budapest Convention provisions.

In respect of Mutual Assistance, while the general framework is suitable and reflects international standards, there are a number of components that are absent and require insertion in order to align with the Budapest Convention, primarily with regard to the transborder execution of the investigative measures.