A world premiere in public international law

Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world. Ginni Rometty, Former CEO of IBM.

Preliminary observations

It can be asserted without reservations that the most significant recent event in the field of public international law at the level of the United Nations was the final approval and adoption on 24 December 2024 by 193 Member States of the world organization of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime; Strengthening International Cooperation for Combating Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes.

This document is the first international criminal-justice treaty to have been negotiated in over 20 years , while the long official title of this comprehensive multilateral legal instrument is by itself an illustration of the complexity of an act composed of an explanatory preamble ,of 68 articles and an annex containing interpretative Notes on some articles of the Convention.

The popular definition of cybercrime refers to any illegal activity that involves a computer, a network, or the internet as a tool, target, or both. It typically involves exploiting technology to commit crimes such as theft, fraud, hacking, or other malicious activities that harm individuals, organizations, or governments.In a larger interpretation, it means also using cyberspace to intimidate, coerce, or harm individuals, groups, or governments for political or ideological reasons.

A highly useful multilateral legal instrument

The Convention's nine chapters provide a detailed approach of modalities to prevent and combat the global problem of cybercrime while also including appropriate human rights safeguards. The Convention has the merit of offering solutions to technical and legal challenges in a specific field by adjusting traditional means and methods of criminal investigations to the information and communication technology environment and by strengthening the necessary international cooperation.

Together with some additional protocols to be further negotiated and added to the Convention, the already mentioned above interpretative notes represent in fact an authentic interpretation of the Convention itself, having a mandatory role in the field of its application. The Convention is the first comprehensive global treaty on this specific matter, which provides States with a rich range of measures to be undertaken to prevent and combat cybercrime. It also aims to consolidate international cooperation in sharing electronic evidence for fighting serious crimes.

It is useful to note that the Convention will be open for signature at a signing ceremony to be held in Hanoi, Viet Nam, in 2025 and thereafter at the United Nations Headquarters in New York until 31 December 2026.

The Convention will enter into force only after the deposit of the fortieth ratification, acceptance, approval or accession by signatory states.

After entry into force of the Convention , a Conference of the States Parties will convene periodically to improve the capacity of and cooperation between States Parties to achieve the objectives of the Convention and to promote and review its implementation.

The limited space of this article does not permit an analysis of the 68 articles of the Convention which will certainly be done in specialized academic publications in many countries. But a consideration taken from the Preambule of the Convention deserves to be provided to the readers even at this early stage of existence of this legal instrument .Indeed, the States parties to the present Convention are " Convinced of the need to pursue, as a matter of priority, a global criminal justice policy aimed at the protection of society against cybercrime by, inter alia, adopting appropriate legislation, establishing common offences and procedural powers and fostering international cooperation to prevent and combat such activities more effectively at the national, regional and international levels.»

This world premiere in the field of public international law has been welcomed by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the following terms :" This treaty is a demonstration of multilateralism succeeding during difficult times and reflects the collective will of Member States to promote international cooperation to prevent and combat cybercrime. The Convention creates an unprecedented platform for collaboration in the exchange of electronic evidence, protection for victims and prevention, while ensuring human rights are protected online.The Secretary-General trusts that the new treaty will promote a safe cyberspace and calls on all States to join the Convention and to implement it in cooperation with relevant stakeholders."

Conclusion

Finally , it should be stressed that once in force the Convention against Cybercrime will have to be implemented in accordance with Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties done at Vienna on 23 May 1969. Article 26 of the Vienna Convention entitled "Pacta sunt servanda" disposes :" Every treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith."

At this very initial stage we can only express the hope that the UN Convention against Cybercrime will be signed and ratified without delay thus facilitating its entry into force by 2026, assuming exemplary rapid ratification by key member states.

In case of political or procedural delays, it could take longer, closer to 2030.However, for reference, it should be recalled that a similar international legal instrument ,the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000), took about three years to enter into force.