Following meetings held in December 2024 and November 2025, the Secretariat of the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY), with the support of the CyberSPEX project, organised on 2 June 2026 the third consultation with civil society stakeholders and service providers on the implementation of the Second Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime.
The consultation focused on civil society perspectives on conducting effective and efficient criminal investigations and proceedings in an international context, including the application of conditions and safeguards to ensure respect for human rights, the rule of law and data protection. More broadly, the event aimed at providing a venue for exchanging views and enhancing knowledge about the Second Additional Protocol and its impact on national legal frameworks and international co-operation in criminal investigations and proceedings.
Held in hybrid format at the Council of Europe’s Palais de l’Europe in Strasbourg, the event brought together representatives of civil society, internet service providers, registries and other industry stakeholders, as well as members and observers of the T-CY, other representatives of Parties to the Convention on Cybercrime, the European Commission and relevant EU agencies and mechanisms including CEPOL, EUROPOL, EUROJUST and SIRIUS project.
Discussions highlighted the importance of necessity and proportionality, judicial oversight, transparency and effective remedies in cross-border judicial co-operation. Participants also considered the victim’s rights perspective, including the need for trauma-informed and child-sensitive approaches in conducting international investigations and prosecutions, strict confidentiality of digital evidence and safeguards against secondary victimisation.
The consultations underlined the importance of shared best practices and experiences in applying data protection safeguards when obtaining electronic evidence across borders, and of identifying key challenges for effective implementation of the Second Additional Protocol.
It was concluded that international and direct co-operations require equivalent levels of data protection safeguards and respect for human rights, in order to ensure that the flow of data necessary in criminal investigations and proceedings is both efficient and based on trust.
Facilitated by the CyberSPEX project, the meeting forms part of an open dialogue with all stakeholders involved for the implementation of the Second Additional Protocol by EU member states and to enhance co-operation on electronic evidence with other Parties to the Convention on Cybercrime.