Between 20-21 October 2021, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) Programme organised a high-level CoE-EU conference on countering cross-border crime and human right implications. Due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference took place in a hybrid format in Strasbourg, with a limited number of participants attending in person and more participants engaging virtually.

Organised within the framework of the EU-CoE project HELP Radicalisation prevention, Judicial response to terrorism and international cooperation in criminal matters, the conference (HLC) gave a unique opportunity to the members of the HELP network to listen to experts from different areas, ranging from cybercrime to deradicalization, or rights of victims of terrorism. This two-year project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe, aims at supporting not only legal professionals at all levels, but also prison and probation staff in the application and implementation of human rights standards at a national level. This has been done by providing specific training and by creating opportunities for networking and exchange of best practices as this HLC.

Workshop D, on Cybercrime and human rights was chaired by Virgil Spiridon, Head of Operations of the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC) in Bucharest, Romania. Through this workshop, Fernanda Teixeira Souza Domingos, International Expert and Federal Prosecutor, explored the challenges in the investigation of cybercrimes and the protection of human rights. Subsequently, exemplified by the national experiences of the United States and Spain, respectively presented by Benjamin Fitzpatrick, Senior Counsel, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division from the U.S. Department of Justice, and Javier Zaragoza Tejada, Senior Prosecutor, expert in cybercrime, and counsellor in the Spanish Constitutional Court.

The workshop was an opportunity to bring cybercrime and its challenges related to human right protection to the attention of legal professionals. As cybercrime is a trans-national phenomenon, it is required to strengthen cross-border judicial cooperation with a view to increase the capacities and mutual trust of legal professionals, as well as their commitment to safeguard human rights during judicial procedures. The role of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and related standards, including the Second Additional Protocol have been highlighted. 

 The European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) webpage

 Read the full news on the HELP webpage

 Learn about the work of the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC)

 Octopus Project webpage