13 October 1999. Thanks to Spiegel Online and CS-H.
Source:
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/politik/0,1518,46800,00.html
Translation by JYA with Systran.
Spiegel Online, 13 October 1999
N E T Z D E P E S C H E
By Christiane Schulzki Haddouti
Spiegel Online publishes here a secret "draft resolution of a common point of view for negotiations in the Council of Europe for the draft of a cyber crime convention" from the European Union advisory of April 23 this year.
In the Council of Europe at present a convention on cyber crime has been prepared. Its purpose is to facilitate easy and fast co-operation on computer-related and computer-assisted criminal offences. Among other things it asks for reliable liaison arrangements around the clock to be furnished among prosecution offices - closely following the model of the 24-nation-contact-group of the G-8 states. A uniform regulation is substantially complete establishing how long data is to be stored and under what conditions it to be accessed to allow time for transnational computer searches.
Whether European Union member states can agree on it is uncertain. Great Britain and Sweden require that an acceptable finalization of the agreement is dependent upon approval of their parliaments. Earliest results will probably come on the occasion of the meeting of the Ministers of the Interior and Justice of the G-8 states upcoming in Moscow [on October 19-20].
Therefore Spiegel Online publishes on the net a telegram entitled "draft resolution of a common point of view for negotiations in the Council of Europe for the draft of a cyber crime convention" from the European Union advisory of April 23 this year.
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/politik/nf/0,1518,46797,00.html
V E R S C H L U S S S A C H E
Draft over a common point of view from... the 1999
- established by the advisory based on article K.3 of the contract for the European Union
- for negotiations in the Council of Europe on the convention for cyber crime
Supported by the contract over the European union, in particular articles K.3 paragraph 2 and articles K.5, recalling that it is important to develop efficient means for prevention and fight of the abuse of the new technologies now used in ever greater extent
in the consideration the fact that the European advisory approved the plan of action of the high-ranking group on "organized crime", which among other things suggested an intensified fight against high tech crime as set out in June 1997 in Amsterdam,with consideration of the measures for the fight against the high tech crime, which already accepted the European union and/or at present it prepares or assumes within short [ in particular... ], in the consideration that precautions for elaboration and broadening of a convention of the Council of Europe on cyber crime were taken,
in the consideration that the member states in the document of "elements of the strategy of the Union are requested against high tech crime", which was approved by the advisory of 3 December 1998, to unite their efforts within this area, for example, by the acceptance of common points of view in accordance with article K.3 EUV, regarding the work of other international committees within the area of the high tech crime,
with consideration of the common measure concerning the European Union to fight against racism and hostility to strangers, regarding the "plan of action of the European Union for the promotion of the safe use of the Internet",
desiring to make the negotiations for the planned convention as extensive a contribution as possible and to avoid incompatibility between the planned convention and the legal instruments prepared in the union
Article 1
(1) the member states support the elaboration of the convention of the Council of Europe on cyber crime. They endorse the admission of regulations into the convention, which facilitates efficient search and pursuit in connection with criminal offences involving computer systems and data connected with them.
(2) the convention should supplement the relevant criminal regulations in an appropriate way for criminal offences in the against professional confidentiality and data privacy and criminal offences which are computer-related against computer data, as for example computer fraud and falsification, as well as criminal offences in connection with content, as for example that of child pornography. The member states should guarantee that criminal penalities for the full range of child pornography cover a broad spectrum of specific criminal actions. The member states endorse furthermore the admission of regulations, according to which the scope of criminal offences in connection with contents, are applicable to actions committed by means of a computer system if required.
(3) the member states ensure that for the criminal offences provided in this convention a suitable jurisdiction is justified.
(4) the member states should support the definition of regulations which facilitate international cooperation; and to support also regulations to provide as comprehensive a legal assistance as possible. The convention should facilitate a brisk co-operation on computer-related and computer-assisted criminal offences. There should be also a mechanism for liaison offices occupied around the clock located convenient to the co-operating prosecution offices in order to support current legal assistance arrangements.
(5) the member states support the admission of regulations, which impose upon the contracting parties of the convention a supporting measure to keep stored data on request of another party so far as necessary, whereby the storage procedure complies with domestic law in the agreement.
(6) the member states support the admission of regulations according to which the contracting parties of the convention are obligated to provide judicial orders in the case of serious criminal offences for an accelerated search for data stored in their territory.
(7) subject to specific reservation clause for the appropriate protection of the sovereignty of other states, a transnational computer search shall be supported with judicial ordersfor the purpose of investigation of serious criminal offences in exceptional cases, e.g. so far as this is necessary, in order to prevent the the destruction of evidence where a serious criminal offence is concerned or the commission of criminal offence is being considered which could lead to the death or serious physical injury of a person.
(8) the regulations for the transnational computer investigation of serious criminal offences should be compatible with the legal instruments of the European Union on access to and use of traffic data.
Article 2
During consultations on the convention of the Council of Europe, the member states, on initiative of the presidency, shall coordinate their positions, in so far as this is feasible, working with one another to find concerted points of view on all questions which substantially affect the interests of the European Union. The commission is to take part in this effort in its entirety.
Article 3
This advisory intends, if required, to arrive at further common points of view regarding the convention draft.
Article 4
This common point of view shall be published in the Official Journal.