In Strasbourg, on 12 May, Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia signed the second additional protocol to the Budapest Convention on cybercrime.
Budapest Convention is the main multilateral pact aimed at facilitating the fight against cybercrime and establishing an international cooperation regime; currently 66 countries, including 26 EU Member States, are parties to it.
The second protocol is the result of the need felt by all participating states to strengthen cross-border cooperation and the collection of evidence in electronic form for the purpose of criminal investigations or proceedings.
The new legal instrument aims to simplify access, by judicial authorities and the police, to electronic evidence held by internet providers. However, there remains a need to respect fundamental rights, including procedural rights in criminal matters, the right to privacy and the right to protection of personal data.
Second additional protocol to the Convention on cybercrime on enhanced co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence, Council of EU, Brussels, 29 March 2022