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By Suzanna Kerridge, 6 June 2001 13:15

NEWS The Council of Europe has released the 27th and final version of its highly controversial cybercrime treaty. The treaty, dismissed in the past as unworkable by many leading IT figures, sets out legislation to crack down on internet crime, fraud and child pornography, and gives greater powers to law enforcement agencies to patrol the internet. Mike Pullen, leading EU lawyer at London law firm DLA, said: "In the UK, a lot of the laws already apply in some form [to the internet] but a lot of prosecutions are prevented from getting a conviction because the traditional law does not go far enough in terms of computer related fraud." Madeleine Abas, the lawyer famous for defending MI6 internet names publisher Richard Thomlinson, agreed. "It is difficult, if not impossible, to secure a conviction because the criminal is one step ahead by committing the act through technical means," she claimed. Under the treaty, law enforcement agencies will be able to place 90-day preservation orders on ISPs to retain data for inspection during criminal proceedings. Furthermore, confidentiality clauses will prevent the service provider from disclosing the existence of a preservation order as it might impede a criminal investigation. The Council of Europe represents 43 European countries. The US State Department and the Department of Justice were both involved in the drafting of the treaty. Pullen disputed allegations that the treaty will damage the European ecommerce market, claiming it is led by the need for law enforcement. "There is nothing draconian about this treaty," he said. "A lot of the offences mentioned are probably already established in law but lawyers have difficulty proving them. This legislation closes a lot of loopholes by setting a common standard." The Council of Europe will now pass the convention on to its member countries, offering the recommendations for formal adoption.