Section I ? Criminal Law. General part. Information Society and Penal Law

Abstract

(A) Introduction: Scope of the Report This report deals with crime related to information and communication technology (ICT) and cyber space. These crimes affect individual and collective interests which, in the 21st century, define the quality of life for many individuals. It is therefore a timely effort on the part of the AIDP to address issues of “Information Society and Penal Law” in its XIXth International Congress of Penal Law. This report is based on responses from 16 legal systems1 to the questionnaire approved by the Board of Directors of the AIDP and distributed to the national groups. The General Reporter is most grateful to the authors of the excellent national reports, which contain a wealth of information and highly relevant considerations. In addition, Mr. Stanislaw Tosza has submitted a special report on social networks, which has also been a most valuable source for this Report.2 The deliberations of Section I of AIDP Congresses have traditionally been devoted to issues of the General Part of the criminal law. But there are few issues concerning what is normally regarded as the “General Part” that relate specifically to ICT and cyber crime. Therefore, the decision was made to define the area of the debates of Section I more broadly and to cover: protection of legal interests specifically related to ICT and the challenges of cyber space;