ARP considers bill on Tunisia’s accession to Budapest Convention on Cybercrime

The plenary session of the Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP) on Tuesday is considering a draft organic law on Tunisia's accession to the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime, the "Budapest Convention 2001," which provides an opportunity for Tunisia to contribute to the international effort to combat cross-border ICT-related crime. The reason for presenting the bill to the plenary session is to underline Tunisia's efforts to draw up legal frameworks covering cybercrime, by incorporating this phenomenon into the Penal Code since 1999 and avoiding loopholes by promulgating Decree No. 54 of 2022 on combating offences related to information and communication systems. The explanatory document states that "Decree No. 54 of 2022 is in line with international legal developments in this field since the adoption of the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime," namely the Budapest Convention of 2001, to which many States around the world have acceded. The Convention will help Tunisia's legal system and national structures involved in combating crimes related to information and communication systems to make the most of the legal procedures approved by the Treaty, notably as regards information sharing between member states. The ARP's General Legislation Committee examined the bill on January 25, 2024. The committee heard on January 29, Minister of Information and Communication Technologies Nizar Ben Neji as well as representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior. Ben Neji told the committee that "cybercrime is a cross-continental crime" and that Tunisia's accession to this Convention is part of the National Strategy on Cyber Security, which aims to support international efforts in this field. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse