UN Convention against Cybercrime: History and legal prospects

Abstract

As a result of the rapid development of information technology and associated increase in cybercrime, the need to ensure international information security has become a critical challenge for the global community. This article analyzes the prospects of the UN Convention against Cybercrime adopted on 24 December 2024 as a mechanism for coordinating the efforts of states in the field of international information security. The aim was to evaluate this international treaty as a basis for cooperation between states in the field of international information security and combating cybercrime. Particular attention is paid to the provisions of the Convention concerning the obligation of states to criminalize the list of acts established by the treaty, as well as ensuring human rights compliance in connection with its application. in the course of the study, the author used historical-legal, formal-legal, and comparative-legal methods to assess certain aspects of international and regional regulation of cybercrime. The empirical basis of the article comprises normative legal acts and those of a recommendatory nature in the field of international information security, as well as legal doctrine devoted to the problems of this industry. The findings can be summarized as follows: the adoption of the international treaty under analysis is an attempt to balance the opposing positions of the participants in the negotiation process regarding the need for universal regulation of cybersecurity with concerns about human rights violations. While the Convention sets out to resolve controversial issues, several significant shortcomings are identified, including a high probability of quickly becoming obsolete due to the complexity of carrying out amendments and the risk of permitting the broad interpretation of certain provisions, which hinders the unification of practice. In particular, the Convention lacks an effective control mechanism for monitoring the fulfilment of obligations. While noting these shortcomings and associated legal risks, the Convention represents the first universal international treaty in the field of international information security and can be recommended for adoption into force.