Special Reports

Twenty-eight countries will sign up to the first convention for fighting international computer crime on Friday, though it could at least a year before the agreement comes into force, according to one expert.

The Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime will give law enforcers around the world new powers to deal with crimes carried out in other countries via international computer networks.

But the Convention cannot be used until it is ratified by at least five states, including three member states of the Council of Europe (CoE). Yaman Akdeniz, of the campaign group Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties, says this ratification process could take some time.

"Coming into force may take at least a year," he says. "It may not take long for a country like the UK to ratify it, but that is not necessarily the case for all members of the CoE."

A spokeswoman for the CoE says it is impossible to predict how soon the Convention will come into force. The treaty will be signed by 24 member countries of the CoE, as well the US, Japan, Canada and South Africa. Other countries may sign up to the Convention later.

Viruses and fraud

The Convention will introduce the international legal framework needed to investigate, extradite and prosecute computer criminals. The Convention covers crimes including computer hacking, computer virus distribution and internet fraud.

But it will not cover the propagation of hate materials on the internet. The US representatives felt this might be incompatible with its First Amendment, which guarantees a right to free speech.

Akdeniz believes the Convention could give governments unchecked new power to monitor citizen's communications.

"The balance is certainly in favour of the law enforcement agencies with no due respect for human rights," says Akdeniz. "There is also an evident lack of commitment to data protection principles."

The Council of Europe spokeswoman claims: "The Convention was drafted to consider individual rights as well as the necessity of penalising computer crime. It was done in the spirit of balance."