Process of accession to the Budapest Convention – Joint Note by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe invited Brazil to accede to the Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention, concluded in 2001. The process began last July, when the Brazilian Government expressed its intention to adhere to the international instrument.  By joining this cooperation agreement Brazilian authorities will have quicker access to electronic evidence under foreign jurisdiction, as well as more effective international legal cooperation aimed at criminal prosecution of cybercrimes.

This is an initiative resulting from  the interinstitutional coordination, constituted for this purpose, among the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Police (PF) and the Department of Asset Recovery and International Legal Cooperation (DRCI) – both under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security –, the Office of Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency and the Federal Public Prosecution Ministry.

The Minister of Justice and Public Safety, Sergio Moro, made the request based on technical advice from the PF and the DRCI.

Brazil shall take the necessary domestic legal measures to accede to the Convention, but may, from now on, as an observer, participate in meetings on the Convention and its protocols. Once a signatory, Brazil will join an international group that includes countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Japan, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and members of the European Union, among others.

Brazil's initiative to accede to the Budapest Convention adds to Law No. 12,965/2014, the Internet's Civil Framework, for the criminal prosecution of cybercrimes.