The CDPC welcomed the forthcoming opening for signature of the Additional Protocol to the Warsaw Convention (CETS No. 198) scheduled for 14 October 2026 in Strasbourg, on the margins of the Octopus Conference on cybercrime. The Committee also participated in the launch event for CM/Rec(2026)2 Recommendation on accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls, jointly prepared by the CDPC and the Gender Equality Commission (GEC) and adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 4 March 2026. The event, organised by the Secretariats of the CDPC and of the GEC and entitled “From standards to action: making accountability for technology-facilitated violence against women and girls a reality”, brought together representatives from member States, judicial and law enforcement authorities and civil society. The Recommendation is the first international legal standard focused on this topic. It proposes a comprehensive notion of accountability, extending beyond criminal law to civil and administrative fields.

During the plenary meeting, delegations discussed the status of signatures and ratifications of selected Council of Europe Conventions within the CDPC’s remit

In an exchange of views with the President, Mr Christian Sager (Switzerland), and the Secretary, Mr Hasan Bermek, of the Committee of Experts on the operation of European Conventions on cooperation in criminal matters (PC-OC), the CDPC reviewed progress in the development of practical tools and guidance and discussed the growing interest of non-member States in acceding to Council of Europe conventions on judicial co-operation in criminal matters.

In the field of penological cooperation, the Committee took note that the Working Group of the Council for Penological Cooperation (PC-CP) finalised the draft text updating Recommendation CM/Rec(2012)12 concerning foreign prisoners and that the new interactive and practice-oriented format of the CoE Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services (CDPPS) was widely appreciated.

The Committee was informed of the next steps regarding the topic of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

The CDPC was informed of the initial work of the Committee of Experts on combatting the smuggling of migrants (PC-TM), which met for the first time in April 2026 and began discussing the draft Recommendation aimed at deterring and fighting migrant smuggling, in full respect of human rights. The draft will address prevention measures, the protection of smuggled migrants, the prosecution of smugglers, and international cooperation, as well as the financial and digital dimension of the phenomenon. Building on the UNTOC Palermo Protocol and other relevant international frameworks, the Recommendation will complement existing standards, with a first draft expected to be examined by the PC-TM in November 2026.

The plenary also provided an opportunity to exchange views on a range of emerging issues. Following an initiative by the Netherlands, delegations discussed the growing misuse of fireworks and pyrotechnics and considered possible avenues for future work. The Committee also explored the implications of crypto assets on decentralised finance for financial crime investigations and asset recovery, hearing from the Council of Europe's Economic Crime and Cooperation Division, inviting delegations to submit written contributions on a future report on national practices.

The Committee reviewed progress on the work of the Working Group of Experts on Artificial Intelligence and Criminal Law (CDPC-AICL) which is preparing a Recommendation on deepfakes. Delegations also exchanged updates on efforts to combat organised crime linked to drug trafficking, in particular on the Pompidou Group’s Policy Guidelines Based on the Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights and their possible follow-up. They further discussed the ongoing work of the Steering Committee for New and Emerging Digital Technologies (CDNET).

The CDPC engaged in an exchange of views on key issues related to Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers on Child-friendly Justice, in particular the gap analysis report on whether to update the Guidelines and agreed that these issues warranted careful consideration in the context of the consultation.

Finally, the CDPC also discussed developments in other areas of its mandate, including Restorative Justice, Medicrime, Trafficking in Human Organs, Protection of Cultural Property, and Hate Crime. It underlined the importance of continued cross-sectoral cooperation and legal input into these topics.

The meeting was closed by Gianluca Esposito, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law. In his closing remarks, he recalled the significant progress achieved at the Ministerial Session held in Chișinău on 14-15 May, notably the agreement on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, the adoption of the Additional Protocol to the Warsaw Convention on criminal asset recovery, the mandate to develop a legal instrument on FIMI and the political declaration on migration reaffirming member States’ commitment to the ECHR system and to combating migrant smuggling.

The next CDPC plenary meeting will take place from 24 to 26 November 2026 in Strasbourg.

The Plenary meeting’s Agenda and the List of decisions are available on the CDPC website.