Cybercrime

In close cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the joint European Union and Council of Europe CyberEast+ project gathered key policy makers, criminal justice authorities and law enforcement on 14 November 2024 in Kyiv, to discuss plans for legislative reforms implementing fully the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) and its Second Additional Protocol.

The representatives of the Verkhovna Rada, National Security and Defence Council, Ministry of Justice, The Prosecutor General’s Office, National Police, the State Bureau of Investigation and State Security Service reviewed the current legislative framework, identified potential gaps with international standards and committed to develop further work for its harmonisation with the Budapest Convention and the Second Additional Protocol.

The representative of the Committee of Digital Transformation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine took the floor to present the amendments completed in Ukrainian legislation and confirmed that the Rada is working on the needed amendments to make Ukrainian legislative framework fully compliant with the Budapest Convention and its Second Protocol as part of the action plan for 2025-2026.

To illustrate the importance for proper implementation and use of the Budapest Convention, the experts invited to facilitate the discussions presented few prominent examples of data preservation, spontaneous information sharing and trans-border access to data (Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris, France, the Sky ECC case in Brussels, Belgium, and attacks to civilians during the Easter holidays across Sri Lanka, investigation into shooting down of the MH17 flight in Ukraine).

The joint European Union and Council of Europe CyberEast+ project is committed to further assist partner authorities of Ukraine in regulating and  handling electronic evidence in criminal cases, in line with the Budapest Convention and its Second Additional Protocol. 

The CyberEast+ Project Webpage

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

The Convention on Cybercrime

The Second Additional Protocol to the Cybercrime Convention on enhanced co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence