Cybercrime regulation at a cross-road: State and transnational laws versus global laws

The proliferation of cybercrime necessitates all internet-connected states to be involved in cybercrime regulation. Although it has been stated that the internet per se and cyberspace in general are by its very nature ungovernable, many states have taken territorial control of the internet although the effectiveness of such control in cross-border crime commission may be questioned. The internet may very well become ungovernable if a nation-state takes a unilateral decision on which conduct constitutes permissible online conduct or endeavours to superimpose laws on other nation-states. It is therefore suggested that under the auspices of the United Nations and within an international law context the following issues should be addressed: conceptualizing the term “cybercrime” in establishing for example whether it includes a cyber-attack, determining which online conduct is permissible to ensure peace and security and initiating negotiations towards a Cybercrime Treaty.