T-CY TRANSBORDER ACCESS

About

 The increasing reliance of societies on ICT is accompanied by increasing offences against and by means of computer systems. Cybercrime violates the rights of individuals and, therefore, governments have the positive obligation to protect society against crime, among other things, through effective law enforcement.

 A primary goal of law enforcement is to secure evidence. In relation to cybercrime but also many other types of crime, this takes the form of electronic evidence. Electronic evidence is volatile and may be stored in multiple or unknown jurisdictions. While the primary means to secure electronic evidence stored in another State is mutual legal assistance, unilateral access to data may also be necessary in certain situations.

 The Budapest Convention on Cybercrime – through Article 32 – allows for transborder access to data in very limited circumstances.

In December 2012, the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) adopted a report with two proposals to address the challenge of transborder access also in the context of cloud computing:

 The preparation of a Guidance Note on the use of the current Article 32

 The negotiation of an Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention