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Computer Crime and
Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) 

International Aspects of Computer Crime

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  1. Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime
  2. Assistant Attorney General James K. Robinson Speaks at the International Computer Crime Conference in Oslo, Norway on May 29
  3. Attorney General Janet Reno's Speech to Senior Experts Representing the G-7 on January 21, 1997
  4. Council of Europe Recommendation 95(13)
  5. Meeting of the Justice and Interior Ministers of The Eight, on December 9 and 10, 1997, in Washington, D.C., focusing on combatting high-tech and computer-related crime
  6. Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder's welcoming remarks from the Vienna International Child Pornography Conference, September 29, 1999
  7. OECD Guidelines for Cryptography Policy
  8. Fighting Cybercrime - What are the Challenges Facing Europe? The Transatlantic Perspective
With the explosive growth of the Internet worldwide, computer crimes increasingly are prone to have international dimensions. Some of the challenges faced by law enforcement on the international front include: harmonization of countries' criminal laws; locating and identifying perpetrators across borders; and securing electronic evidence of their crimes so that they may be brought to justice. Complex jurisdictional issues arise at each step. The Department of Justice is working with foreign governments through many channels to address global threats related to computer crime.

A.  Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime

On June 29, 2001, the Council of Europe released the final text of the draft Convention on Cyber-Crime, which is the first multilateral instrument drafted to address the problems posed by the spread of criminal activity on computer networks. The United States has participated in the drafting of the Council of Europe Convention since the project began over four years ago and has accepted comments and consulted with interested persons and groups, especially since the draft text was first made public in April 2000. The drafting group has now completed its work, and the text of the Convention has been finalized by the Steering Committee on European Crime Problems. The Convention will now be submitted to the Committee of Ministers for adoption before it is opened to members of the Council of Europe and observer nations, including the United States, for signature.

The text of the Convention and its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum are available through the following links:

B.  Assistant Attorney General James K. Robinson Speaks at the International Computer Crime Conference in Oslo, Norway on May 29, 2000
On May 29, 2000, Assistant Attorney General James K. Robinson spoke at the International Computer Crime Conference in Oslo, Norway, on "Internet as the Scene of Crime."  His speech  addressed the types of computer crime that exist, as well as the legal and technical challenges that face law enforcement and prosecutors in their efforts to combat this crime.  The speech is available via the link below.
C. Attorney General Janet Reno's speech to Senior Experts representing the G-7 on January 21, 1997
On January 21, 1997, Attorney General Janet Reno spoke to Senior Experts representing the G-7 group of leading industrialized nations (now, with the inclusion of Russia, known as The Eight). The Attorney General's speech addressed the challenges presented to law enforcement by hightech and computer criminals, and she suggested a number ways in which the United States and its allies can respond to this global threat. Her speech is available via the link below.
D. Council of Europe Recommendation 95(13)
In September 1995, the Council of Europe adopted eighteen (18) recommendations relating to problems of criminal procedural law connected with information technology. These recommendations are available via the link below.
E. Meeting of the Justice and Interior Ministers of The Eight, on December 9 and 10, 1997, in Washington, D.C., focusing on combatting high-tech and computer-related crime
On December 9 and 10, 1997, Attorney General Reno convened a first-ever meeting on crime of her counterparts from The Eight (formerly known as the G-7 plus Russia) countries: England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, and Canada. In all, sixteen Ministers and Deputy Ministers attended.

The subject of the meeting was transnational organized crime, and its focus was on combatting high-tech and computer-related crime. On December 10, the Ministers adopted a Communique which contained 10 Principles and 10 Action Items relating to high-tech crime. This document is the outgrowth of the work of the Subgroup of The Eight on High-tech Crime, which met five times in 1997, and is working to develop the tools that law enforcement needs to locate and identify computer criminals, and gather evidence of their crimes so that they may be brought to justice. The Communique they adopted may be accessed via the link below:

F.  Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder's welcoming remarks from the Vienna International Child Pornography Conference, September 29, 1999
On September 29, 1999, Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder gave remarks on "Combating Child Pornography on the Internet" at Vienna, Austria International Child Pornography Conference. The conference sought to combat child pornography and exploitation on the Internet and was based on existing international obligations and committments for the protection of children, including the Conventionon the Rights of the Child. The conference built and acted upon commitments undertaken at the Stockholm World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (1996) and ongoing initiatives in many countries and regions.
G.  OECD Guidelines for Cryptography Policy
In early 1996 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) initiated a project on cryptography policy by forming the Ad hoc Group of Experts on Cryptography Policy Guidelines. The Ad hoc Group was charged with drafting Guidelines for Cryptography Policy ("Guidelines") to identify the issues which should be taken into consideration in the formulation of cryptography policies at the national and international level. The Ad hoc Group had a one year mandate to accomplish this task and it completed its work in December 1996. Thereafter, the Guidelines were adopted as a Recommendation of the Council of the OECD on 27 March 1997.  The OECD Guidelines and relevant background material are linked below:
H.  Deputy Assistant Attorney General DiGregory’s Remarks before the European  Parliament on International Cooperation in Combating Cybercrime, September 19, 2000
On September 19, 2000 Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin DiGregory spoke before a conference in the European Parliament that was entitled "Fighting Cybercrime- What are the Challenges Facing Europe?" DiGregory discussed the Transatlantic perspective on combating cybercrime, including international cooperation.


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Updated page July 10, 2001
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