The Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC) has completed an update of its cursory overview of the global state of legislation on cybercrime. The purpose of this update is to provide a cursory overview of global trends regarding legislation on cybercrime and electronic evidence, and thus to serve as a starting point for more thorough assessments and in particular for targeted support to countries or regions in view of further strengthening of laws or of criminal justice capacities to enable the application of new legislation by practitioners.
Some countries began to work on specific legislation on cybercrime and electronic evidence already in the 1990s. By December 2025, some 97% of UN Member States had either carried out such reforms or reforms were underway. Almost all regions have commenced reforms during the past eleven years. Obviously, reforms of legislation can never be considered completed and should thus be understood as a continuous process. Capacity building support is required to move ahead.
As a result of reforms undertaken, 134 States (or 69% of UN Member States) seem to have had substantive criminal law provisions to criminalise offences against and by means of computers “largely in place” by end of December 2025, that is, they had adopted specific domestic provisions corresponding to most of the substantive criminal law articles of the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention). An additional one fourth of States had adopted at least some specific substantive criminal law provisions. Very good progress was thus made in twelve years between January 2013 and December 2025 in this respect -- and the pace of reforms significantly increased since 2018.
Reform of procedural law and the enactment of specific procedural powers to secure electronic evidence for use in criminal proceedings (corresponding to Articles 16 to 21 Convention on Cybercrime and subject to the safeguards of Article 15) is a more complex undertaking. Progress was made during the past eleven years and by December 2025 some 54% of States had specific powers largely in place. However, many States still rely on general procedural law provisions (for search, seizure and so on) to investigate cybercrime and secure electronic evidence.
Following the opening for signature of the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, on enhanced cooperation and disclosure of electronic evidence in May 2022, some 30 to 40 countries are currently reforming their domestic legislation in line with this Protocol. By December 2025, 52 States had signed it of which two had also ratified it.
By December 2025, 50% of UN Member States were either Parties or Signatories to the Convention on Cybercrime or had been invited to accede. These 97 States were thus members or observers in the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY). There is consistent progress in terms of membership, with a particularly large increase occurring in 2022-2025. Beyond membership, the Convention on Cybercrime appears to serve 85% of States worldwide as a guideline or at least as a source inspiring domestic legislation, as reflected in the structure of or concepts used for at least some provisions.
By December 2025, some 186 States had participated in Council of Europe activities on cybercrime.
Council of Europe (2026): The global state of cybercrime legislation 2013-2025: a cursory overview
Consult the dedicated webpage of the Convention on Cybercrime