Panel Shares Insights on Drafting New U.N. Cybercrime Treaty
A group of experts involved in drafting a newly adopted United Nations treaty on cybercrime gathered for a March 25 panel discussion at the Law School to share their insights on how the treaty developed and its implications for international cooperation.
The event, “The U.N. Cybercrime Convention — Hearing from the Drafters,” was sponsored by the Yale Society of International Law and co-organized by Orkhan Abdulkarimli ’25 LLM. The discussion was moderated by Oona Hathaway ’97, the Gerard C. and Beatrice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law.
The U.N. Convention Against Cybercrime was adopted in December 20244 after roughly two and a half years of negotiations. Hathaway discussed how shifting political alliances, disparate legal systems, and rapidly changing technologies affected the drafting process. She highlighted that disagreements over cross-border data access, extradition, and jurisdiction revealed how much cybercrime can test international law in a more digital world.
Thomas Burrows, a former associate director of the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), a subject matter expert, and member of the U.S. delegation to the negotiations, gave an insider’s view of the Convention’s overarching goals. He retired in February 2025 after handling extradition and mutual legal assistance (MLA) matters, including cybercrimes.
Burrows said he believes the 11 core offenses under the new treaty provide standards for countries to align their domestic legislation and avoid dual criminality challenges. This will enable stronger extradition and legal assistance cooperation. Burrows also outlined how preparation for the negotiations fostered a consensus among the majority of delegations. He cited the need to strengthen capacity in developing countries to ensure the treaty’s eventual success.
Anthony V. Teelucksingh, who retired in February 2025 as senior counsel at the DOJ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and also a subject matter expert and member of the U.S. delegation, described how the 24/7 Network, launched under the Budapest Convention5 — the first international treaty to address internet and computer crime — has facilitated swift evidence-gathering in international cyber investigations.
Teelucksingh praised the process’s speed but cautioned that governments must also think about strengthening their capacity to address cybercrime. He also commented on the Convention’s recognition of the principle of passive personality jurisdiction, which allows states to assert jurisdiction when their nationals are victims of cybercrime abroad.
Strengthening international cooperation
Representing the Council of Europe, Alexander Seger, executive secretary of the Cybercrime Convention Committee, traced the path of the Budapest Convention from 2001 to the 78 states that are currently parties and a further 17 that have signed it or been invited to accede. He explained that the parties to the Budapest Convention decided to engage in the treaty process to ensure consistency of the U.N. treaty with the Budapest Convention and to address inclusion of the minimum human rights safeguards necessary for cooperation. Both objectives were achieved, and both treaties are broadly consistent and complement each other, he said.
John Brandolino, director of the Division for Treaty Affairs at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), highlighted issues confronted during the drafting process, including differences over surveillance authority, asset-sharing formulas, and the precise ambit of criminalized conduct. According to Brandolino, the finished product is a thoughtful compromise.
Taking up the subject of online child exploitation, Normand Wong, general counsel at the Department of Justice Canada and associate head of delegation and the substantive lead negotiator for Canada, spoke to moments of unexpectedly broad agreement. Measures directed at child sexual exploitation and nonconsensual intimate images, he said, were universally agreed upon. Their shared moral imperative, he said, spanned cultural and legal boundaries.
Finally, event organizer Abdulkarimli, former senior investigating judge overseeing major cybercrime and cross-border criminal matters and lead negotiator for the Azerbaijani delegation, described the practical difficulties that developing states face, such as negotiating direct law enforcement cooperation opportunities with global tech companies.
Speaking from personal experience preparing MLA requests, he said that the Convention’s promise of cooperation can fail if states lack technical assistance or capacity-building. However, Abdulkarimli said he was hopeful that through proper training and persistence, the new treaty would reduce barriers to justice for victims of cybercrime worldwide.
After the Q&A session, Hathaway said the success of the Convention will rely on broad ratification and continuous evolution. As technology pushes into areas previously unimaginable, the international community will need to be vigilant, nimble, and concerted in its efforts to counter an emerging cyber threat landscape, she said.
