Efficient international cooperation, including expeditious mutual legal assistance is one of the most important conditions for effective measures against cybercrime and other offences involving electronic evidence given the transnational and volatile nature of electronic evidence. In practice, however, procedures are considered too complex, lengthy and resource intensive, and thus too inefficient. This is also true for the countries participating in the Eastern Partnership.

According to information available, police and judicial authorities in the six EaP countries:

• typically request traffic and subscriber data via 24/7 points of contact, police-to-police cooperation, mutual legal assistance or directly from multi-national service providers. Content is rarely requested given the complexity of the procedures;
• mostly send requests but increasingly also receive requests from abroad;
• send/receive requests primarily related to fraud as well as organised crime. Increasingly they also cover offences against computer data and systems.

The six EaP countries are considered important sources and targets of cybercrime (and thus are of major concern for member states of the European Union and the Council of Europe), but the level of international co-operation on cybercrime and electronic evidence is extremely limited and very few requests for mutual legal assistance related to electronic evidence are sent or received.

Specific objective:  to enable efficient regional and international co-operation on cybercrime and electronic evidence

Indicators:

• authorities responsible for mutual legal assistance have their capacities enhanced with regard to cybercrime and electronic evidence;
• the effectiveness of 24/7 points of contact will be enhanced;
• draft amendments to rules and procedures on mutual legal assistance will be available for adoption.