The Budapest Convention on Cybercrime: benefits and impact in practice

This report by the Council of Europe – Secretariat of the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) – is to illustrate the benefits and impact of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime in view of facilitating dialogue with States and stakeholders interested in cooperation on cybercrime.

The report provides evidence of the impact of the Budapest Convention by demonstrating implications for: domestic legislation on cybercrime and electronic evidence worldwide; domestic investigations based on this legislation; international cooperation, including of serious and organised cases of cybercrime; public/private cooperation; and the strengthening of criminal justice capacities. Practical experiences and examples of capacity building are presented from country cases across continents.

Backed up by the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) and the C-PROC specialised Cybercrime Programme Office for global capacity building, the Budapest Convention is a framework that permits hundreds of practitioners from all over the world to share experiences and create relationships that facilitate cooperation in specific cases, including in emergency situations, beyond the specific provisions foreseen in this Convention. The additional benefits of becoming a Party to the Convention are outlined in this report.