A central event of the six-month Italian Presidency of the Council of Europe, the opening ceremony for the signing of the Second Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention was held in Strasbourg on May 13 in the presence of Justice Minister Marta Cartabia.
Thus, the Convention, a landmark international treaty for action by law enforcement and judicial authorities in cybercrime matters, as of today is enriched with additional operational tools for gaining access to electronic evidence in different jurisdictions quickly and efficiently, including through direct cooperation with foreign service providers or the transmission of data and information in emergency situations.
At the same time, the Second Protocol guarantees a strong system of safeguards and conditions that protect the fundamental rights of individuals who may be involved in investigative activities, including the protection of personal data that may be transferred from one country to another.
The Protocol is the result of more than 4 years of negotiations involving 75 countries, with a total of more than 600 contributions.
Already on the same day, at the very moment it was declared open, more than 20 countries proceeded to sign the Protocol, the first of which was Italy.
An extraordinary achievement, which substantially strengthens international cooperation on cybercrime and electronic evidence.