by facilitating the detection, investigation and prosecution of such criminal offences at both the domestic and international level, and by providing arrangements for fast and reliable international co-operation;
Mindful of the need to ensure a proper balance between the interests of law enforcement and respect for fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the 1950 Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the 1966 United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other applicable international human rights treaties, which reaffirm the right of everyone to hold opinions without interference, as well as the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, and the rights concerning the respect for privacy;
Mindful also of the protection of personal data, as conferred e.g. by the 1981 Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data;
Considering the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1999 International Labour Organization Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention;
Taking into account the existing Council of Europe conventions on co-operation in the penal field as well as similar treaties which exist between Council of Europe member States and other States and stressing that the present Convention is intended to supplement those conventions in order to make criminal investigations and proceedings concerning criminal offences related to computer systems and data more effective and to enable the collection of evidence in electronic form of a criminal offence;
Welcoming recent developments which further advance international understanding and co-operation in combating cybercrimes, including actions of the United Nations, the OECD, the European Union and the G8;
Recalling Recommendation N° R (85) 10 concerning the practical application of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters in respect of letters rogatory for the interception of telecommunications, Recommendation N° R (88) 2 on piracy in the field of copyright and neighbouring rights, Recommendation N° R (87) 15 regulating the use of personal data in the police sector, Recommendation N° R (95) 4 on the protection of personal data in the area of telecommunication services, with particular reference to telephone services as well as Recommendation N° R (89) 9 on computer-related crime providing guidelines for national legislatures concerning the definition of certain computer crimes and Recommendation N° R (95) 13 |
After CEBIT awards in 2002,
