Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime in United States
Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime
Overview of Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime in relation to cyber crime: [1] The Convention on Cybercrime is the most comprehensive international treaty yet to define, prevent, and prosecute cybercrimes. As with all criminal laws in the United States, the document specifically defines (in Article 1) many terms so that nations implementing the agreement, as well as countries contemplating future signing of the Convention, understand exactly what is referred to in the document. The Convention outlines criminal offenses that participating countries must add to their criminal code. One set of offenses concerns the ”confidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer data and systems.” (Convention on Cybercrime, Chapter II, Section 1, articles 2–8.) These offenses include illegal access, interception, and interference of data; interference with information systems; misuse of information technology (IT) devices; and computer-related forgery and fraud. Additional sets of offenses proscribed pertain to Internet content (child pornography), copyright infringement, and aiding and abetting (articles 9–11). Article 12 addresses corporate liability and article 13 addresses adoption of appropriate criminal sanctions.
Resources
Notes and References
- By Thomas Schiller
See Also
- Types of Cybercrime
- Cybercriminal
Further Reading
Council of Europe. (2003, January 28). Additional Protocol to the Convention on cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems. European Treaty Series No. 189. Strasbourg, France. Retrieved from http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/ 189.htm; Council of Europe. (2007). Chart of signatures and ratifications: Status as of 16/10/07. Additional Protocol to the Convention on cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems. European Treaty Series No. 189. Strasbourg, France; Council of Europe. (2007). Chart of signatures and ratifications: Status as of 16/10/07. Convention on Cybercrime. European Treaty Series No. 185. Budapest, Hungary, November 23, 2001. Retrieved from http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ChercheSig.asp?NT=185&CM =8&DF=10/16/2007&CL=ENG; Council of Europe. (2001, November 23). Convention on Cybercrime. European Treaty Series No. 185. Budapest, Hungary. Retrieved from http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/en/Treaties/Html/185.htm); Council of Europe. (2001, November 23). Explanatory report. Convention on Cybercrime. European Treaty Series No. 185. Budapest, Hungary. Available at http://conventions .coe.int/Treaty/EN/Reports/Html/185.htm; Council of Europe. (2001, November 23). List of declarations, reservations, and other communications: 16/10/07. Convention on Cybercrime. European Treaty Series No. 185. Budapest, Hungary. Available at http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=185&CM=8 &DF=10/16/2007&CL=ENG&VL=1; Council of Europe. Treaties glossary of terms. Available at http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/v3Glossary.asp; U.S. Department of Justice. Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section Web page: http://www .usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/COEFAQs.htm.