Preamble
The member States of the Council of Europe and the other States Parties to the Convention on Cybercrime (ETS No. 185, hereinafter “the Convention”), opened for signature in Budapest on
23 November 2001, signatories hereto,
Bearing in mind the reach and impact of the Convention in all regions of the world;
Recalling that the Convention is already supplemented by the Additional Protocol concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic
nature committed through computer systems (ETS No. 189), opened for signature in Strasbourg on 28 January 2003 (hereinafter
“the First Protocol”), as between Parties to that Protocol;
Taking into account existing Council of Europe treaties on co-operation in criminal
matters as well as other agreements and arrangements on co-operation in criminal matters
between Parties to the Convention;
Having regard also for the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of
Personal Data (ETS No. 108) as amended by its amending Protocol (CETS No. 223), opened for signature in Strasbourg on 10 October 2018, and to which
any State may be invited to accede;
Recognising the growing use of information and communication technology, including
internet services, and increasing cybercrime, which is a threat to democracy and the
rule of law and which many States also consider a threat to human rights;
Also recognising the growing number of victims of cybercrime and the importance of
obtaining justice for those victims;
Recalling that governments have the responsibility to protect society and individuals
against crime not only offline but also online, including through effective criminal
investigations and prosecutions;
Aware that evidence of any criminal offence is increasingly stored in electronic form
on computer systems in foreign, multiple or unknown jurisdictions, and convinced that
additional measures are needed to lawfully obtain such evidence in order to enable
an effective criminal justice response and to uphold the rule of law;
Recognising the need for increased and more efficient co-operation between States
and the private sector, and that in this context greater clarity or legal certainty
is needed for service providers and other entities regarding the circumstances in
which they may respond to direct requests from criminal justice authorities in other
Parties for the disclosure of electronic data;
Aiming, therefore, to further enhance co-operation on cybercrime and the collection
of evidence in electronic form of any criminal offence for the purpose of specific
criminal investigations or proceedings through additional tools pertaining to more
efficient mutual assistance and other forms of co-operation between competent authorities;
co-operation in emergencies; and direct co-operation between competent authorities
and service providers and other entities in possession or control of pertinent information;
Convinced that effective cross-border co-operation for criminal justice purposes,
including between public and private sectors, benefits from effective conditions and
safeguards for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Recognising that the collection of electronic evidence for criminal investigations
often concerns personal data, and recognising the requirement in many Parties to protect
privacy and personal data in order to meet their constitutional and international
obligations; and
Mindful of the need to ensure that effective criminal justice measures on cybercrime
and the collection of evidence in electronic form are subject to conditions and safeguards,
which shall provide for the adequate protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
including rights arising pursuant to obligations that States have undertaken under
applicable international human rights instruments, such as the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS No. 5) of the Council of Europe, the 1966 United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1981 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the 1969 American Convention
on Human Rights and other international human rights treaties;