Cybercrime is a threat to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Criminal justice authorities are confronted with a continuous increase in the scale and quantity of cybercrime and other offences involving electronic evidence, with associated technical challenges, with issues related to cloud computing and jurisdiction, including links to organised crime, and with challenges facing the system of mutual legal assistance. The COVID-19 pandemic is accompanied by further proliferation of cybercrime.

This underlines the need for effective criminal justice action, making use of frameworks such as the Convention on Cybercrime and additional solutions, including those being developed for the 2^nd Additional Protocol to permit instant cooperation in urgent and emergency situations subject to human rights and rule of law safeguards. 

The International Association of Prosecutors, and the GLACY+ and Octopus projects of the Council of Europe successfully co-organized a series of five thematic webinars to exchange views and share experiences on the existing and new forms of cooperation for effective access to electronic evidence, as well as legal tools proposed by the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention.

Based on the outcomes of this series, International Association of Prosecutors, and the GLACY-e and Octopus projects of the Council of Europe will continue to provide a dialogue platform for prosecutors on the possible practical implementation of the Second Additional Protocol. This will be done in the form of a new series of webinars, focusing on the implications for prosecutors on three main themes:

• Direct cooperation with providers and entities in other Parties;
• Judicial international cooperation tools ;
• Co-operation in absence of applicable international agreements.

It is expected that the webinars will identify:

• implementation options and challenges of the provisions of the Second Additional Protocol;
• further capacity building needs in view of supporting criminal justice authorities in the use and implementation of the Protocol.

A list of the outcomes will be included in a report at the end of the third webinar.

The event is open for participation for criminal justice authorities and members of the International Association of Prosecutors.

• The webinars will take place online via Zoom platform.
• The webinar will be held in English. The discussion will be recorded.
• Prior registration is needed. 

• Council of Europe, Budapest Convention
• Council of Europe, Second Additional Protocol
• Council of Europe - International Association of Prosecutors: Enhanced Cooperation and Disclosure of Electronic Evidence: towards a new Protocol to the Budapest Convention - Cybercrime (coe.int)
• Octopus Project
• GLACY-e project