On 21 October 2022, the Council of Europe organised the sixth Annual Meeting of 24/7 Network of Contact Points, in the Hague, Netherlands. Under Article 35 of the Budapest Convention, the 24/7 Network facilitates immediate assistance for cybercrime investigations and collection of electronic evidence, with expediate data preservation as an essential and distinctive element made available to States Parties.

This year, around 100 participants of 56 countries attended the event and discussed the promotion of the contact points at domestic level, the updates and developments of their capacities and shared examples of good practices and successful investigations supported by the Network.

The event introduced the new responsibilities provided by the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime and opened the discussions on their implementation into the domestic legislation and in practice.

The new provisions of Article 9 and 10, for a more effective international criminal justice response, facilitating expedited disclosure of stored computer data in an emergency and   emergency mutual assistance, were particularly discussed with the participants and the representatives of Europol, Eurojust and Interpol, who also joined the meeting.

The Council of Europe will continue to offer capacity building support to the Network, through activities designed and targeted to enhance the capabilities of the 24/7 contact points around the globe, implemented by Cybercrime Programme Office (C-PROC).

 The 24/7 Network webpage

 Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC) webpage