The Council of Europe – through its Cybercrime Programme Office (C-PROC) in Romania – is supporting countries worldwide in the strengthening of their criminal justice capacities to respond to the challenges posed by cybercrime and electronic evidence on the basis of the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) and its two Additional Protocols.

The Office became operational in 2014 and since its creation C-PROC has supported over 2700 activities benefiting some 140 countries.

These activities contributed to the global standardization of the cybercrime legislation, by increasing between 2013 and 2025 the number of states with substantive criminal law in line with the Convention on Cybercrime from 70 to 132.

Capacity building by C-PROC has also been a major factor in the growing reach of and accession to this Convention (increase from 41 Parties in 2013 to 82 by the end of May 2026).

In the implementation of capacity building projects, numerous initiatives have been exercised by addressing topics associated with cybercrime and electronic evidence but also by involving international or domestic partners, helping them to enhance the knowledge and improve the exchange of information, given the transversal nature of this matter.

Another important contribution is related to the development of various resources that have been used as standards and good practices including by countries beyond our capacity building projects.

C-PROC is essential for successful global outreach of the Council of Europe and for maintaining its position as a global leader on cybercrime capacity building.