Catalina Stroe (from left), Tupou Baravilala.

The move by Fiji to be included in the Budapest Convention on Cyber Crime will benefit the country in many ways, including the likelihood of receiving data from giant internet service providers upon request.

Catalina Stroe, the Programme Manager with the Cybercrime Office of the Council of Europe, highlighted this while joining the Ministry of Communication in their submissions to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on the Convention on Cybercrime.

Stroe says if Fiji successfully becomes a party to the convention, it will have full rights to access the implementation of the convention.

She says the Cybercrime Office of the Council of Europe has been assisting Fiji to become a party to the convention, and once this happens, Fiji will gain the trust that will protect its citizens from cybercrime.

“Why is that, because it is considered that these countries, the state party has a strong legal framework in place including safeguard to ensure the right balance between the need to protect the citizens against any crime and the respectful fundamental rights and rule of law, in our experience we need to work together at all level.”

Stroe says they will continue to provide support, particularly in the area of justice.

Ministry of Communications Acting Permanent Secretary Tupou Baravilala says becoming a member of the convention will enable law enforcement authorities to more effectively investigate cybercrimes and prosecute criminals.

“And what it allows for is when we do accede is that there need to be 24 by seven focal point in all of the member states so that if any issue happens, any need for investigation all they need to do is call that person and say I’m having an issue I need for you to quickly help and we have 67 parties already and we have a number of countries including Fiji that are trying to sign up as well, so that’s a great benefit for us.”

Fiji was invited to accede to the Budapest Convention in December last year.

Stroe says an invitation to accede to the convention sends an important signal about the country’s readiness to harmonize its internal laws with international standards in the fight against cybercrime.