The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or the Budapest Convention, is the first international treaty aimed at combating computer and Internet crime (cybercrime) through the improvement of investigative methods, harmonisation of national laws, and increased international cooperation.
“The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe accepted the Convention and its Explanatory Report” on November 8, 2001, at its 109th Session. It was made available for signature in Budapest on November 23, 2001, and it became operative on July 1, 2004. As of April 2023, 68 states had ratified the convention, with two (South Africa and Ireland) having signed it but not yet done so.
The preamble outlines its main goal, which is to pursue a common criminal strategy aimed at safeguarding society from cybercrime, particularly through the creation of appropriate legislation and promotion.
It has been more than 40 years since cybercrime first appeared. The Council of Europe has been tackling this issue from a criminal law perspective since the mid-1980s. Since then, information and communication technology, or ICT, has completely changed societies everywhere. Furthermore, they are now far more vulnerable to security risks like cybercrime.
India is thought to be in the process of considering whether or not to become a party to this convention. India has not yet joined the Agreement because it is an emerging power in the twenty-first century and believes that it should have autonomy over its own information technology laws and regulations. We will learn in the next years the course of action India will choose, as well as the role this Convention will play in that decision.
