The president of the Senate and National Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco, enacted Legislative Decree 37/2021, which approves the text of the agreement that contains the Convention on Cyber Crime. This international agreement, also known as the Budapest Convention, has been in force since 2004 and is the first international treaty to discipline crimes committed on the Internet by typifying cybercrimes and bringing mechanisms to facilitate cooperation between its signatories.
Arising in the sphere of the European Union, the convention has the adhesion of countries outside the bloc, such as Chile, Argentina, the United States, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. It covers both cybercrimes classified as “proper” (crimes aimed at the inviolability and misuse of cyber data and information itself, such as unauthorized access) and “improper” (crimes against various legal assets committed through computers, crimes against honor, storing pedophile images, online copyright infringement and others).
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil’s accession to the convention will streamline the access of Brazilian authorities to electronic evidence under foreign jurisdiction. The agreement (Project Legislative Decree 255/21), approved by the Chamber of Deputies in October and by the Senate this month, was published in December 21st, 2021 in the Federal Official Diary.
For Gabriel Di Blasi, founding partner of Di Blasi, Parente & Associados, the country’s adherence to the international agreement will facilitate the investigation of crimes, whose evidence may be outside the Brazilian jurisdiction. This exchange of information will favor the fight against cybercrimes, especially crimes considered inappropriate, for example, pedophilia crimes both in Brazil and abroad.
