CYBER LAWS

ILBA501

Sonal R.
01/07/2020
 UNIT – I:
Introduction to
Cyber Laws and Cyber Space

2 Sonal R.
Cyber Law
 In today’s world of cyberspace which is largely dependent upon
the internet and use of technology, the incidents of cyber crime
have increased.
 To protect one from the cybercrime, there was a need for cyber
laws and so, the implementation of cyber laws in India began in
the year 2000, with the IT Act as an introduction to Indian Cyber
Law.  
 The laws governing the crimes of the virtual world or the
cyberspace are popular as Cyber laws in India.
 Definition of Cyber-laws states that it's a subset of law which
specifically deals with the inter-network technology.
 Meaning cyber law of India deals with the crime done through a
computer or any other digital device.
3 Sonal R.
Cyber Law

 Cyber Laws in India prevent any crime done using

technology, where a computer is a tool for cybercrime.
 The laws for cyber crime protects citizens from dispensing
sensitive information to a stranger online.
 Ever since the introduction to cyber laws in India happened,
IT Act 2000 was enacted and amended in 2008 covering
different types of crimes under cyber law in India.
 The Act explains the types of cyber crime and punishment.
4 Sonal R.
Cyber Law

 In technology driven society, internet has huge

contribution for the growth of humans. Many investigators
explained that cyberspace is a physical space but actually
were a computer-generated construction representing
abstract data.
 It is a virtual medium. It has no boundaries, no
geographical mass, or gravity. Numerous advancements
are done due to cyber activities but the major question is
that whether it should be regulated or not.

5 Sonal R.
Cyber Law

 Cyber crimes are illegal acts where the computer is used

either as a tool or a target or both. The massive growth in
electronic commerce (e-commerce) and online share trading
has led to an unusual erupt in incidents of cybercrime.
 Although, there is system to protect devices from infected
with computer virus to the data and computer networks such
as firewalls, antivirus software, and other technological
solutions, but in India efforts must be done towards effective
use of these technologies to protect the valuable data and to
combat cyber-crime.
 Even expert users of IT tools may not be aware of cyber
victimization.

6 Sonal R.
 Cyber Law
 Along with the progression in technology it is similarly important to
be aware of cyber-crime and other related issues thereof. The cyber
safety depends on the knowledge of the technology and the care
taken while using internet and that of the defensive measures adopted
by user and servers systems.
 Cyber law portrays the legal issues associated with the use of
communications technology, mainly "cyberspace", i.e. the Internet. It
is a junction of numerous legal fields, including intellectual property,
privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction.
 It is established that cyber law applies to regulations designed for the
physical world, to human activity on the Internet.
 Cyber law basically deals with almost all aspects of transaction and
activities concerning Internet, World Wide Web and Cyberspace in
India.
7 Sonal R.
 Cyber Law
 IT Acts in India include data, information, computer and computer
network as a part of the cyber crime.

 To know what is cyber law, it is necessary to understand that what

is cyber law in India and what it deals with. Role of law in cyber
world is related to:
1. Cyber crimes
2. Electronic and digital signatures
3. Intellectual property
4. Data protection and privacy

8 Sonal R.
Importance of Cyber Law in India

 Cyber laws of India or Cybercrime law in India is important

because of the prime reason that cyber crime act in India
encompasses and covers all the aspects which occur on or
with the internet - transactions and activities which concern
the internet and cyberspace.
 Cyber Crime laws in India are important because it
concerns everyone who uses or does anything with the
internet. Every activity done on the internet comes under the
purview of cyber laws in India. 
 "So, what are the cyber laws in India?“
 The enactment of Indian cyber crime laws or cyber security
laws in India was to provide protection from cyber crimes.
9 Sonal R.
Cyberspace:

 Cyber Law is the law that controls cyber space. Cyber

space is a very broad term and includes computers,
networks, software, and data storage devices such as
hard disks, USB disks, the Internet, websites, emails and
even electronic devices such as cell phones, ATM
machines. The increased dependence of individuals and
organizations on cyberspace has resulted in many
cybercrimes.

10 Sonal R.
Cyberspace:

 Cyber laws are made for cyberspace. Cyberspace

incorporates the activities, which have occurred in the
physical space just prior to entry into cyberspace. Cyberspace
is the significant aspect of cyber law which serves as a link
between the physical space and the cyberspace, in order to
control interface between man and machine. The presence of
cyber laws are an expansion of physical laws in cyberspace.
These are 'analogy-seeking' laws.

11 Sonal R.
Netizens: 

The term Netizen is a portmanteau (dividing) of the English words Internet and citizen  as in
"citizen of the net". It is defined as an entity or person actively involved in online communities

“ It describes a person actively involved in online communities 

and a user of the Internet, especially an avid one. The term can also imply an interest in
improving the Internet, especially in regard to open access and free speech. Netizens are also
commonly referred to as cybercitizens, which has the same meaning.“
 Cyber law has initiated notion of netizens. A Netizen is an occupant of the worldwide world.
He is the one, who inhabits the Net and uses it as an extension of his day-to-day physical
world. He reproduces his physical world actions, such as socializing, buying, and selling
through online medium. He goes beyond geographical space and time by a click. He identifies
no man-made or geographical boundaries. Netizen could be nameless, nameless and faceless
person, if he wants to and yet can indulge in various internet activities.

12 Sonal R.
 Origin/History & functioning of
internet

13 Sonal R.
Origin of internet

It is impossible to credit the invention of the Internet to a

single person. The Internet was the work of dozens of

pioneering scientists, programmers and engineers who

each developed new features and technologies that

eventually merged to become the “information

superhighway” we know today.

14 Sonal R.
Origin of internet
 The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the
late 1960’s with the creation of ARPANET, or the
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. Originally
funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET
used packet switching to allow multiple computers to
communicate on a single network.
 The technology continued to grow in the 1970’s after
scientists Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed
Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, or
TCP / IP, a communications model that set standards for
how data could be transmitted between multiple networks.

15 Sonal R.
Origin of internet
 ARPANET adopted TCP/IP on January 1, 1983, and from
there researchers began to assemble the “network of networks”
that became the modern Internet.
 The online world then took on a more recognizable form in
1990, when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the
World Wide Web.
 While it’s often confused with the Internet itself, the web is
actually just the most common means of accessing data online
in the form of websites and hyperlinks.
 The web helped popularize the Internet among the public, and
served as a crucial step in developing the vast trove ( store of valuable
or delightful things ) of information that most of us now access on a

daily basis.
16 Sonal R.
History Of The Internet
 Introduction
By definition the “Internet” is a worldwide, publicly accessible
series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by
packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol.
 How did this technology come to be so popular and so widely
used around the world ?
 Was it always so large and extensive, filled with information
about just about anything you can possibly imagine and
accessible from almost anywhere, anytime ?
The answer is no and it is important to understand where it
came from to understand how to utilize it to its fullest potential
now.

17 Sonal R.
History Of The Internet
 Creation

The Internet’s origin has their roots in a military project, the

Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) program, which

networked country-wide radar systems together for the first

time. This was created around 1958 as part of an attempt to

regain the lead in technology from the Soviet Union which had

recently launched Sputnik.

18 Sonal R.
History Of The Internet
 Growth

Although the basic applications and guidelines that make the

Internet possible had existed for almost a decade, the network
did not gain public face until the 1990s.

On August 6, 1991, the European Organization for Nuclear

Research, (CERN), which straddles the border between France
and Switzerland, publicized the new World Wide Web project.
The web was invented by English scientist Tim Berners-Lee in
1989.
19 Sonal R.
History Of The Internet
 Growth

An early popular web browser was ViolaWWW. It was eventually replaced

in popularity by the Mosaic web browser.

By 1996 usage of the word “Internet” had become commonplace, and

consequently, so had its use as a reference to the World Wide Web.

Over the course of the decade, the Internet successfully accommodated the

majority of previously existing public computer networks (although some

networks have remained separate).

20 Sonal R.
History Of The Internet
 Today’s Internet

Aside from the complex physical connections that make up its

infrastructure, the Internet is facilitated by bi- or multilateral commercial

contracts and technical specifications or protocols that describe how to

exchange data over the network.

Indeed, the Internet has severely matured since its birth many years ago.

Today almost 1.5 billion people use the Internet. That’s almost a quarter of

the entire world.

21 Sonal R.
History Of The Internet
 Today’s Internet

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

(ICANN) is the authority that coordinates the assignment of unique
identifiers on the Internet, including domain names, Internet Protocol
(IP) addresses, and protocol port and parameter numbers.

A globally unified namespace is essential for the Internet to function.

Because the Internet is a distributed network comprising many
voluntarily interconnected networks, the Internet, as such, has no
governing body.

22 Sonal R.
 History Of The Internet
 Today’s Internet

One of the most common uses people have for the Internet is the World Wide Web. Whenever
you say you are “on the Internet” you are using the World Wide Web.

When you are surfing the Internet through different pages you are moving through the World
Wide Web. However, that is not the only use for the Internet.

E-mail is another very popular use for the Internet. Internet e-mail may travel and be stored
unencrypted on many other networks and machines out of both the sender’s and the recipient’s
control.

Remote access is another very common use for the Internet. The Internet allows computer users
to connect to other computers and information stores easily, wherever they may be across the
world. (team viewer / Anydesk)

File sharing is also popular. It allows people to send files through e-mail, FTP, peer-to-peer
networks,
23
etc. Sonal R.
Functioning of Internet
 The Internet is a collection of standalone computers (and computer
networks in companies, schools, and colleges etc.) all loosely linked
together, mostly using the telephone network. 
What does the Internet do?
 The Internet has one very simple job: to move computerized
information (known as data) from one place to another. That's it!
 The machines that make up the Internet treat all the information they
handle in exactly the same way.
 In this respect, the Internet works a bit like the postal service. Letters
are simply passed from one place to another, no matter who they are
from or what messages they contain. The job of the mail service is to
move letters from place to place, not to worry about why people are
writing letters in the first place; the same applies to the Internet.

24 Sonal R.
Functioning of Internet

 Just like the mail service, the Internet's simplicity means it

can handle many different kinds of information helping

people to do many different jobs.

 It's not specialized to handle emails, Web pages, chat

messages, or anything else: all information is handled equally

and passed on in exactly the same way.

25 Sonal R.
Functioning of Internet

 When you chat to somebody on the Net or send them an e-

mail, do you ever stop to think how many different 
computers you are using in the process? There's the
computer on your own desk, of course, and another one at
the other end where the other person is sitting, ready to
communicate with you.
 But in between your two machines, making communication
between them possible, there are probably about a dozen
other computers bridging the gap. Collectively, all the
world's linked-up computers are called the Internet. 
26 Sonal R.
Functioning of Internet

 Communication
 Research
 Education
 Financial transactions
 For Updates

27 Sonal R.
Functioning of Internet
 Communication:
 Internet now being a main communication tool. Using video
conferencing, internet phone, Messenger, email etc.
 Research:
 In order to do research you need to go through hundreds of books as well
as the references and that was one of the most difficult jobs to do earlier.
 Research is one such thing which has got lots of benefit from this
evolution of internet.
 Education:
 Education is one of the best things that the internet can provide.
 There are a number of books, reference books, online help centres,
expert’s views and other study oriented material on the internet that can
make the learning process very easier as well as a fun learning experience.

28 Sonal R.
Functioning of Internet
 Financial transactions:
  Financial transaction is the term which is used when there
is exchange of money.
 With the use of internet in the financial transaction, your
work has become a lot easier.
 With the ability to do the financial transaction easily over
the internet you can purchase or sell items so easily.
 For Updates:
 For updating of all information

29 Sonal R.
 Cyber World
and
the rule of Law in Cyber World

30 Sonal R.
Cyber World

 (uncountable, computing) The world of

inter-computer communication
 (countable, computing) A real or virtual
world of information in cyberspace

31 Sonal R.
About the Cyber World

 The Cyber World, or cyberspace, is more than just the

Internet.

 It refers to an online environment where many participants are

involved in social interactions and have the ability to affect

and influence each other.

 People interact in cyberspace through the use of digital media.

32 Sonal R.
About the Cyber World
 Examples of cyberspace interactions are:

33 Sonal R.
About the Cyber World

 Through Internet-based social networking sites such as

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, people can remain

connected to their loved ones (e.g. family and friends) and

their larger community (e.g. distant relatives and ex-

classmates), and even make new friends online.

34 Sonal R.
Characteristics of Cyberspace

 When people are online, most of them engage in activities that

leave a digital footprint. A digital footprint refers to all
information found online about a person; it is either posted by
that person or others, intentionally or unintentionally.
 This information leaves a permanent mark as it can be easily
retraced, retrieved and passed on by others.
 The digital footprint can be used by potential employers and
universities looking for information on their potential employees
and students.
35 Sonal R.
Characteristics of Cyberspace
 The following infographic shows the characteristics of
cyberspace and its impact:

36 Sonal R.
Meaning of Rule of Law
 The Rule of Law is linked to the protection of fundamental
rights.
 The nearly permanent and ever more extensive processing of
data by the public and private sectors easily results in violations
of the fundamental right to privacy and the right to fair and
legitimate processing of personal data.
 The function of the legislature in a free society under the Rule of
Law is to create and maintain the conditions which will uphold
the dignity of man as an individual. This dignity requires not
only the recognition of his civil and political rights but also the
establishment of the social, economic, educational and cultural
conditions which are essential to the full development of his
personality .
37 Sonal R.
Rule of law in Cyber World

 The rule of law based on human rights can be difficult to

apply online, in cyberspace.

 On one hand, it can be argued that given there are no

physical borders; it is difficult for the matter of
jurisdiction to be resolved.

 On the other hand, it can also be debated that governments

must prosecute those responsible for criminal acts, and
those users and corporations reside within their
jurisdiction.

38 Sonal R.
Rule of law in Cyber World

 A multinational treaty is necessary which is binding on both states and

major actors within cyberspace.
 This treaty must ensure protection of human rights. It is also important
for people to accept that some level of surveillance is necessary for their
own protection.
 A monitoring and enforcement body will also be required to ensure
protection of human rights online. It may be difficult to bring into
existence a treaty and court as described, since every state/ organisation
may have different views and opinions regarding human rights.

39 Sonal R.
Rule of law in Cyber World

 It can be extremely difficult to track origins of online

crime. This may involve sharing of personal data of a large
number of users, and the issue of lack of confidentiality
also arises as a result.
 On one hand, sharing such information is necessary to
track Internet crime;
 on the other hand, it can create mistrust, and a severe lack
of privacy.
40 Sonal R.
Rule of law and cyber security

 “The Rule of Law is not a natural phenomenon or merely

an idea; it does not exist in the same way as a stone or a

mathematical formula. The law, the state and the Rule of

Law are institutions that depend on complex patterns of

interaction, which in turn depend on the institutions which

enable and constrain them.”

41 Sonal R.
Rule of law and cyber security

 The rule of law is a system of rules and rights that enables fair and

functioning societies. It requires states, individuals or organisations to act in

accordance with the law and exercise rights and responsibilities in line with

the law. It affirms the supremacy of the legal system over all individuals and

organisations, including the government.

 J. Raz asserts that the rule of law comprises of two broad categories

(1) that people should be ruled by the law and obey it, and

(2) that the law should be such that people will be able to be guided by
42 Sonal R.
it.
Rule of law and cyber security

43 Sonal R.
Rule of law and cyber security

 Cyber security “is the collection of tools, policies, security concepts, security

safeguards,guidelines, risk management approaches, actions, training, best

practices, assurance and technologies that can be used to protect the cyber

environment and organization and user’s assets.”

 In other words, it is the safety, protection and privacy of personal data in

cyberspace.

44 Sonal R.
 Significance of Law in Dealing with
Challenges Faced by Cyber World

45 Sonal R.
Need of Cyber Law

"The modern thief can steal more with a computer than

with a gun.

Tomorrow's terrorist may be able

to do more damage

with a keyboard than with a bomb".

-National Research Council, U S A "Computers at Risk”.1991

46 Sonal R.
 Need of Cyber Law

 Internet has dramatically changed the way we think, the

way we govern, the way we do commerce and the way we
perceive ourselves.
 Information technology is encompassing all walks of life
all over the world.
 Cyber space creates moral, civil and criminal wrongs. It
has now given a new way to express criminal tendencies.
47 Sonal R.
 Need of Cyber Law

 Cyberspace is open to participation by all.

 “IT” has brought Transition from paper to paperless world.
 The laws of real world cannot be interpreted in the light of
emerging cyberspace to include all aspects relating to
different activities in cyberspace.
 Internet requires an enabling and supportive legal
infrastructure in tune with the times.
48 Sonal R.
Importance of Cyber law

 Cyber law is vital because it touches almost all aspects of

transactions and behaviour on and concerning the Internet,
the World Wide Web and Cyberspace.
 It was understood that over a period of occasion it will
produce and further amendments will be brought-in to
make it well-matched with the International standards.
 It is significant to realize that we need “qualitative law”
and not “quantitative laws”.
49 Sonal R.
Importance of Cyber law

 Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial

health. Issues surrounding this type of crime has become
high-profile, mainly those surrounding cracking, copyright
infringement.
 There are problems of privacy when private information is
lost or intercepted, lawfully or otherwise.
 Cyber crimes can involve criminal activities that are
traditional in nature, such as fraud, forgery, theft, mischief and
defamation all of which are subject to the Indian Penal Code.
 The abuse of computers has also given birth to a range of new
age crimes that are addressed by the Information Technology
Act, 2000.

50 Sonal R.
Significance of Law in Dealing with
Challenges Faced by Cyber World
 One of the biggest challenges facing the Cyber world was that if
it was not regulated by Rule of Law, it would have turned into a
virtual jungle where might is right.
 Further, countries slowly realized the significance of Cyber
space as in the early years the countries were not yet interested in
the development of cyber space.
 It was primarily the private sector which led to the development
of cyber space, e-commerce and electronic governance, as
phenomenal instruments.
 It is only when the Pvt. sector demonstrated without any
interference from the Government that cyber space can be used
for human advancement, that the Govts. of the world woke –up
to the significance of cyber space.
51 Sonal R.
Significance of Law in Dealing with
Challenges Faced by Cyber World

 Consequently, the Governments of the world also started

realizing the need for ensuring protection of their

sovereign interests in cyber space. In this regard, law has

been found by all stakeholders to be extremely significant

while dealing with the challenges faced by the cyber

world.
52 Sonal R.
Significance of Law in Dealing with
Challenges Faced by Cyber World
 While initial e-commerce regimes were taking root, it was felt
by the relevant stakeholders that there is a need for enabling a
legal framework for promoting e-commerce.
 As such, the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission On International
Trade Law) came up with the UNCITRAL model law on e-
commerce. Consequently, various national Governments came
up with their own national legislations. To deal with electronic
commerce and its propagation.
 As cyber crimes are getting more and more prevalent and as new
kinds and manifestations of cyber criminal activities are coming
up, it became increasingly important that law will have to play
an important role for effectively regulating such cyber criminal
activities.
53 Sonal R.
Significance of Law in Dealing with
Challenges Faced by Cyber World
 Further, since cyber crime was a trans-national criminal
activity , there was a need felt for coming up with
appropriate legal instruments which could effectively deal
with such trans-national criminal activity.
 As such, the Convention on Cyber crime of the Council
of Europe was implemented , which has become the most
important and successful international treaty in the
context of cyber space and cyber crime.
 The aforesaid developments have indicated in no unclear
terms that law plays an extremely critical and significant
role, while dealing with various legal and regulatory
challenges faced by cyber space and cyber world.
54 Sonal R.
 Issues Of Jurisdiction
And
Applicable Law In Cyberspace

55 Sonal R.
 Introduction
 This topic deals with jurisdiction and applicable law with respect to computer
crimes and offenders.
 The issue of jurisdiction of courts in crimes is perplexing in the cyberspace
world and computer crimes era. It is easier to sit in New Zealand and hack a
computer in Chandigarh and steal digital information than it would be for a
thief to physically steal something from the neighbourhood.
 The digital world makes national and international borders a relic (historical
interest). Courts exercising jurisdiction on the basis of such national and
international borders are left aghast (filled with shock) by the speed and ease
with which a cyber-criminal moves from one jurisdiction to another with the
use of a mouse.
 The issue arising out of such activities, at the foremost, contains that of the
jurisdiction of a court. Which court shall have the jurisdiction to entertain the
matter?
 And then, which law shall be applicable in such cases?
56 Sonal R.
 Introduction
 In an online environment, the offender and the victim might reside in
different geographical locations governed by different procedural and
substantive laws – probably, in different countries.

 For instance, a person might open an online gambling website while in

Las Vegas. The website is open for all to see and use. It might be legal
in Las Vegas. But, when people access and make use of this website
in, say, Qatar, Australia and Indonesia, the question as to
permissibility of offering to gamble might crop up.

57 Sonal R.
Objectives
• explain the term jurisdiction and discuss the importance of it in
cyberspace;

• discuss various theories relating the criminal jurisdiction quoting

relevant provisions of Indian laws and court decisions; and

• analyse the importance of the effect doctrine in the light of the

extra territorial nature of the cyber crimes; and

• examine the issue of applicable law with special reference to India

by citing relevant sections of the IT Act 2000.

58 Sonal R.
Jurisdiction In Cyberspace
 ‘Jurisdiction’, as applied to a particular claim or controversy, is the power to hear and
determine that controversy.
 The term imports authority to expound or apply the laws, and excludes the idea of power
to make the laws.
 It refers to the right to adjudicate on a given point; the local extent within which the
court can and does exercise the right when ascertained.
 The law relating to crimes would generally require that the courts within a state would
have jurisdiction to try and adjudicate upon all such offences committed by a person
within the territorial boundaries of such a court.
 However, the exceptions have been created where even though, technically and strictly, the
offender might not have committed the crime on the soil of the country, yet the courts would
exercise jurisdiction over such an offender.

59 Sonal R.
Jurisdiction In Cyberspace
To fully appreciate and comprehend this issue, we first
need to understand
 the jurisdiction issues arising in an offline environment in
India in criminal cases and
 the body of law applicable to ascertain jurisdiction.

Then we proceed to apply the same rules in a cyberspace

environment and assess the difficulties.

60 Sonal R.
Theories of Jurisdiction in Criminal Cases

 We have to bear in mind that a State, while framing laws, exercises

its legislative power to
(a) regulate;
(b) adjudicate upon; and,
(c) enforce measures, against criminal actions.

 Law of adjudication provides for establishment of courts and

defining their jurisdiction.
 Enforcement measures ensure that the orders of the court are carried
out and persons found guilty are appropriately punished. There are
generally accepted bases of jurisdiction or theories under which a
state may claim to have jurisdiction to prescribe a rule of law over an
activity.

61 Sonal R.
Theories of Jurisdiction in Criminal Cases

 Subjective territoriality is by far the most important of the six.

 The substantial part of criminal legislation across the globe is based on

the theory that if an activity takes place within the territory of the

particular country, then the said country has the jurisdiction to regulate

and punish for such activity.

 For instance, section 2 of the Indian Penal Code provides for

punishment of offences committed within India.

62 Sonal R.
Theories of Jurisdiction in Criminal
Cases
 Objective territoriality is invoked where the action takes place outside
the territory of the forum state, but the primary effect of that activity is
within the forum state.
 Commonly known as the ‘effects’ doctrine is the situation , where the
action takes place outside the territory of a country, but the primary effect
of that activity is within the said country, it assumed jurisdiction.
 For instance, a person from Pakistan shoots across the border and an
Indian is injured in the process. Though the action was initiated in
Pakistan, the effect was in India. Section 179 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure endorses the effects doctrine.

63 Sonal R.
General Jurisdiction in Computer Crimes

 The law of jurisdiction with respect to crimes relating to computers is the

same as that relating to traditional crimes.
 The theory of subjective territoriality would apply.
 In India, Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 relates to
jurisdiction of courts with regard to criminal matters.
 The foremost and most commonly applied theory of territoriality is
embodied in section 177 of the Code in the following words:
 177. Ordinary place of inquiry and trial.- Every offence shall ordinarily be
inquired into and tried by a Court within whose local jurisdiction it was
committed.

64 Sonal R.
General Jurisdiction in Computer Crimes

 Thus, any computer crime committed, say, in Indore, would be tried by the
criminal courts in Indore itself.
 However, computer crime, by its very nature, is capable of being committed
at more than one place at the same time.
 For instance, a person sitting in Mumbai can hack into a computer at the
“Indian Institute of Science” at Bangalore through a proxy server located at
Kanpur. In such situations, the offence can be inquired into and tried by a
court having jurisdiction over any of such areas where the crime has been
committed.
 Section 178 of the Code provides for this kind of a situation:

65 Sonal R.
General Jurisdiction in Computer
Crimes
Sec 178. Place of inquiry or trial.
Thus, based upon the subjective territoriality theory and the
above provisions of our criminal procedural law, the
requirement that
 our courts should have jurisdiction to book persons found guilty
of committing crimes relating to computers within the territory
of India is well taken care of.
 However, issues arise when someone is sitting across the border
and initiates a digital action which has a direct adverse
consequence within the territory of a state. The ‘effects’
doctrine (objective territoriality theory Sec 179 CPC)
assumes significance when offenders involved in cross-border
crimes are required to be put on trial.
66 Sonal R.
General Jurisdiction in Computer
Crimes
Sec 178. Place of inquiry or trial.
a) When it is uncertain in which of several local areas an
offence was committed, or
b) Where an offence is committed partly in one local area
and partly in another, or
c) Where an offence is a continuing one, and continues to
be committed in more local areas than one, or
d) Where it consists of several acts done in different local
areas, it may be inquired into or tried by a Court having
jurisdiction over any of such local areas.

67 Sonal R.
 Application of ‘Effects’ Doctrine in
Computer Crimes
Also known as the ‘consequence’ or ‘terminatory’ theory, the principle is that

 where an act is done abroad and the criminal effect is produced here, the crime is taken to be committed

here.

 Both English and American courts have exercised this kind of extra-territorial jurisdiction.
 For instance, in Simpson v. State, [92 Ga.41.17S.E.984(1893)],the victim was in a small boat near the Georgia

side of the wide Savannath River. Simpson, the defendant, stood on the opposite South Carolina Bank and fired

several shoots at the vessel. The bullets missed the boat but struck the water nearby.

 The Supreme Court of Georgia held that jurisdiction attached with these circumstances and that Simpson could

properly be prosecuted in Georgia even though the defendant was clearly in another state at the time of shooting.

The location of the victim and the place where the bullets landed established the basis for the decision. In R. v.

Oliphant, [(1905) 2K.B.67] in which a man in Paris by false returns caused incorrect figures to be entered in the

account books of his firm in London, it was held that the office of false accounting was committed by him in

London.

68 Sonal R.
 Application of ‘Effects’ Doctrine in
Computer Crimes

Under the Indian criminal law, section 179 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 embodies the effects doctrine, which reads as under:

“179.

Offence triable, where act is done or consequence ensues:

 When an act is an offence by reason of anything which has been

done and of a consequence which has ensued, the offence may be

inquired into or tried by a court within whose local jurisdiction such

thing has been done or such consequence has ensued.”

69 Sonal R.
 Application of ‘Effects’ Doctrine in
Computer Crimes
 Section 179 giving statutory recognition to the ‘effects’ doctrine is

squarely applicable in computer crime cases.

 There would be many situations where we would find that though

the initiator of an illegal action is somewhere outside the territory of

India, the effect of his digital wrong-doing has caused damage to

persons within India. Such persons, by operation of section 179, are

liable to be tried in India. The Indian courts would have jurisdiction

to try such cyber criminals.

70 Sonal R.
Applicable Law In Computer Crimes
Once a court has assumed jurisdiction, the next question is:
 what body of substantive law should be used to resolve the problem?
 It is the substantive criminal law of a country which declares
whether a particular activity is a crime or not.
 Every country has its own set of criminal laws. What is a crime
in one country might be an innocent act in another. Online
activities create a vast scope for confusion.
 It might even act as a haven. An offender can skilfully carve out
a niche for himself in the cyber world where he/she is not
answerable for his/her criminal activities because of his/her
physical presence in a country whose cyber criminal laws are
not matured enough to pin him/her down.

71 Sonal R.
Applicable Law In Computer Crimes
75. Act to apply for offence or contravention committed
outside India.
1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the
provisions of this Act shall apply also to any offence or
contravention committed outside India by any person
irrespective of his nationality.
2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), this Act shall apply
to an offence or contravention committed outside India
by any person if the act or conduct constituting the
offence or contravention involved a computer, computer
system or computer network located in India.

72 Sonal R.
Applicable Law In Computer Crimes
 The above two provisions make it clear that the offence,
though committed outside India, is punishable in India.
 Thus, a Nepalese, sitting in Canada initiates a Distributed
Denial of Service involving computer networks in India to
obstruct Yahoo e-mail services, such a person, if put to
trial in India, can be found punishable under the IT Act.
 Section 2 of the Indian Penal Code deals with punishment
of offence committed within India. This poses no
problem. If an illegal act concerning computers is
committed within India, it is the provisions of the Code
which would apply to such acts.

73 Sonal R.
Applicable Law In Computer Crimes
 Section 3 of the Indian Penal Code reads as under: Punishment
of offences committed beyond but which by law may be tried
within India. Any person liable, by any Indian law, to be tried
for an offence, committed beyond India shall be dealt with
according to the provisions of this Code for any act committed
beyond India in the same manner as if such act had been
committed within India.
 This section will apply in a situation where the accused, at the
time of committing the offence that he/she is charged with, is
amenable to Indian courts. Section 3 of the IPC has a broad
ambit and it extends to any person not necessarily a citizen of
India but governed by Indian law for acts committed beyond
India.
74 Sonal R.
Applicable Law In Computer Crimes
 Section 4 of the Indian Penal Code, on the other hand, applies the
Nationality doctrine. It deals with acts and omissions of Indian
citizens abroad. It further regulates the action of any person
irrespective of his/her nationality, if such person happens to be on
a ship or aircraft registered in India. The section reads as under:
 Extension of Code to extra-territorial offences.- The provisions of
this Code apply also to any offence committed by –
(1) any citizen of India in any place without and beyond India;
(2) any person on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it
may be.
Explanation – In this section the word “offence” includes every act
committed outside India, which if committed in India would be
punishable under this Code.

75 Sonal R.
Applicable Law In Computer Crimes
 Thus, the provisions of the Code would apply if an Indian citizen
anywhere outside India commits any computer crime punishable
under the Indian Penal Code, like digital forgery or cyberstalking.
 It is worth noting that the ‘applicability’ provisions of the
Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code are slightly
on different notes. The IT Act is broader and covers all such persons
whose action or omission might be an offence under the Act. This is
irrespective of their nationality or their geographical presence. On
the other hand, sections 2 and 3 of the Indian Penal Code are not as
vast in their applicability. Section 3 restricts itself to only such
persons who are liable to be tried within India by virtue of any
Indian law. Section 4 of the Code applies only to citizens of India
and any person who commits an offence while on any ship or
aircraft registered in India.
76 Sonal R.
International Treaties, Conventions and
Protocols Concerning Cyberspace

77 Sonal R.
Introduction

 The laws of cyber laws constitute the laws and regulations administered
by national institutions together with the ones administered by
international, intergovernmental and international non governmental
organizations.
 Several International agencies are active in matters relating to the
regulation of cyberspace and the media through which they execute these
regulations are international legal instruments like treaties, agreements,
conventions, charters, protocols, declarations, memoranda of
understanding, modus Vivendi (an arrangement or agreement allowing conflicting parties to

coexist peacefully, either indefinitely or until a final settlement is reached.) and exchange of notes.
78 Sonal R.
Introduction

 In fact, the meaning of the terms used to describe an

international instrument is variable, changing from State to
State, from region to region and instrument to instrument.
 Some of the terms can easily be interchanged: an instrument
that is designated “agreement” might also be called “treaty”.
 The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is the
principal law governing the international law of rights and
obligations that treaties entail.

79 Sonal R.
1) United Nations Commission On International
Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

 The most prominent among all the international organizations is

the United Nations.
 The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
(UNCITRAL) is the agency charged with the responsibility of
harmonization and unification of International trade laws.
 Based in Vienna, UNCITRAL is a legal body with universal
membership specialising in commercial law reform worldwide
for over 40 years. UNCITRAL’s business is the modernisation
and harmonisation of rules on international business.
80 Sonal R.
United Nations Commission On International
Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
 With the growing usage of electronic commerce and advanced
communications technology in international trade, the UNCITRAL
came up with a Model Law on Electronic Commerce in 1996.
 This was based on a Resolution of the General Assembly of the United
Nations of 1985, urging governments and international organizations to
take action to ensure legal security in the context of the widest possible
use of automated data processing in international trade.
 This model law was adopted by the UNCTRAL in the Commission’s
29th session after observations of governments and other interested
organizations.
81 Sonal R.
United Nations Commission On International
Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

 One of the guiding factors during the drafting of the model law
was that the law should facilitate the use of electronic commerce
that is acceptable to states with different legal, social and
economic systems so as to significantly contribute to the
development of harmonious international economic relations.
 The model law was intended to assist all states in framing
appropriate legislation governing the usage of alternatives to
paper-based methods of communication and storage of
information.
82 Sonal R.
United Nations Commission On International
Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

 Following the framing of the Model Law the United Nations

General Assembly by its Resolution No. 51/62, dated 30th
January 1997, recommended that all states should give
favourable consideration to the said law when they frame or
revise their own law.
 The model law with its provision for equal treatment of users of
electronic communications and paper based communication
soon became the basis of several national legislations including
the Information Technology Act of 2000 of India.
83 Sonal R.
United Nations Commission On International
Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

 The UNCITRAL in 2005 came out with the United Nations

Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in
International Contracts.
 This was adopted by the General Assembly on 23
November 2005; the Convention aims to enhance legal
certainty and commercial predictability where electronic
communications are used in relation to international
contracts.
84 Sonal R.
United Nations Commission On International
Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
 It addresses the determination of a party’s location in an electronic
environment; the time and place of dispatch and receipt of
electronic communications; the use of automated message systems
for contract formation; and the criteria to be used for establishing
functional equivalence between electronic communications and
paper documents — including “original” paper documents — as
well as between electronic authentication methods and hand-
written signatures.

This instrument is now open for countries to sign and ratify.

85 Sonal R.
2) World Summit On Information Society

 Under the aegis of the United Nations, with the International

Telecommunication Union playing a key role, a World

Summit on Information Society (WSIS) was held in two

phases in Geneva, from1-12 December 2003 and in Tunis,

from 16-18 November 2005.

86 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 At the summit in Geneva in 2003, world leaders realising the immense

potential of information and communication technologies in human
development, declared their “common desire and commitment to build a
people-centered, inclusive and development oriented information society,
where everyone can create, access, utilize and share information and
knowledge, enabling individuals, communities and peoples to achieve their
full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving
their quality of life, premised on purposes and principles of the Charter of
the United Nations and respecting fully and upholding the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.”

87 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 One objective of the WSIS was to address the uneven

distribution of the benefits of the information technology

revolution between the developed and developing countries

and within societies, what is known as the digital divide.

88 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society
 A Plan of Action was adopted in Geneva to give effect to the vision of an
inclusive information and communication society aimed at bridging the
digital divide and building digital solidarity.
 The targets that were laid down in the action plan to be achieved by 2015
by all nations are listed below.
a) to connect villages with ICTs (information & communication technologies) and establish
community access points;
b) to connect universities, colleges, secondary schools and primary schools
with ICTs;
c) to connect scientific and research centres with ICTs;
d) to connect public libraries, cultural centres, museums, post offices and
archives with ICTs;
e) to connect health centers and hospitals with ICTs;
89 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

f) to connect all local and central government departments and establish

websites and e-mail addresses;

g) to adapt all primary and secondary school curricula to meet the challenges
of the Information Society, taking into account national circumstances;

h) to ensure that all of the world’s population have access to television and
radio services;

i) to encourage the development of content and to put in place technical

conditions in order to facilitate the presence and use of all world languages
on the Internet;

j) to ensure that more than half the world’s inhabitants have access to ICTs
within their reach
90 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

At the summit held in 2005 in Tunisia, governments reaffirmed their

dedication to the commitments made in Geneva and decided to further build
on them focusing on financial mechanisms for bridging the digital divide
and also on areas such as internet governance as well as follow up on
Geneva and Tunis decisions.

A Tunis Agenda for the Information Society was adopted along with a
Tunis Commitment that outlined the basis for the implementation and
follow-up of the Agenda.

91 Sonal R.
 World Summit On Information Society
 The agenda has further identified the strategy to meet the obligations of
the Geneva plan. There the agenda proposes to undertake efforts for:
a) mainstreaming and aligning national e-strategies, across local, national,
and regional action plans, as appropriate and in accordance with local
and national development priorities, with in-built time-bound measures.
b) developing and implementing enabling policies that reflect national
realities and promote a supportive international environment, foreign
direct investment as well as the mobilisation of domestic resources, in
order to promote and foster entrepreneurship, particularly Small,
Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs), taking into account the
relevant market and cultural contexts. These policies should be reflected
in a transparent, equitable regulatory framework to create a competitive
environment to support these goals and strengthen economic growth.

92 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 c) building ICT capacity for all and confidence in the use

of ICTs by all – including youth, older persons, women,
indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and remote
and rural communities – through the improvement and
delivery of relevant education and training programmes
and systems including lifelong and distance learning.
 d) implementing effective training and education,
particularly in ICT, science and technology that
motivates and promotes participation and active
involvement of girls and women in the decision-making
process of building the Information Society.

93 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 e) paying special attention to the formulation of universal

design concepts and the use of assistive technologies that
promote access for all persons, including those with disabilities.
 f) promoting public policies aimed at providing affordable
access at all levels, including community-level, to hardware as
well as software and connectivity through an increasingly
converging technological environment, capacity building and
local content.
 g) improving access to the world’s health knowledge and
telemedicine services, in particular in areas such as global
cooperation in emergency response, access to and networking
among health professionals to help improve quality of life and
environmental conditions.
94 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 h) building ICT capacities to improve access and use of

postal networks and services.
 i) using ICTs to improve access to agricultural knowledge,
combat poverty, and support production of and access to
locally relevant agriculture-related content.
 j) developing and implementing e-government applications
based on open standards in order to enhance the growth
and interoperability of e-government systems, at all levels,
thereby furthering access to government information and
services, and contributing to building ICT networks and
developing services that are available anywhere and
anytime, to anyone and on any device.
95 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 k) supporting educational, scientific, and cultural

institutions, including libraries, archives and museums, in
their role of developing, providing equitable, open and
affordable access to, and preserving diverse and varied
content, including in digital form, to support informal and
formal education, research and innovation; and in
particular supporting libraries in their public-service role
of providing free and equitable access to information and
of improving ICT literacy and community connectivity,
particularly in underserved communities.
 l) enhancing the capacity of communities in all regions to
develop content in local and/or indigenous languages.
96 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 m) strengthening the creation of quality e-content, on

national, regional and international levels.

 n) promoting the use of traditional and new media in

order to foster universal access to information, culture
and knowledge for all people, especially vulnerable
populations and populations in developing countries
and using, inter alia, radio and television as educational
and learning tools.

97 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 o) strongly encouraging ICT enterprises and

entrepreneurs to develop and use environment-friendly
production processes in order to minimize the negative
impacts of the use and manufacture of ICTs and
disposal of ICT waste on people and the environment.
 p) incorporating regulatory, self-regulatory, and other
effective policies and frameworks to protect children
and young people from abuse and exploitation through
ICTs into national plans of action and e-strategies.

98 Sonal R.
World Summit On Information Society

 q) promoting the development of advanced research

networks, at national, regional and international levels,
in order to improve collaboration in science, technology
and higher education.

 r) promoting voluntary service, at the community level,

to help maximize the developmental impact of ICTs.

 s) promoting the use of ICTs to enhance flexible ways

of working, including teleworking, leading to greater
productivity and job creation.
99 Sonal R.
3) United Nations Commission On Trade
And Development
 United Nations Commission on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) is the United Nations General Assembly’s
main agency responsible for trade and development.
 Since 1998 when the General Assembly gave UNCTAD a
special grant to pursue and develop electronic commerce
initiatives, this agency has been active in its advocacy of
the role and importance of information and
communication technologies in development.
100 Sonal R.
3) United Nations Commission On Trade
And Development
 UNCTAD carries out policy-oriented analytical work on the information
economy and its implications for developing countries. Its analytical work is
published in the annual Information Economy Report (former E-commerce
and Development Report). It also assists governments, businesses and civil
society groups that are considering adopting free and open source software
policies.
 UNCTAD has also published the Digital Divide: “ICT Development Indices
2004” , which benchmarks ICT diffusion for over 150 countries using
indices of connectivity and access. It also monitors trends in ICT
development to raise awareness and helps formulate policies aimed at
narrowing the digital divide.
101 Sonal R.
4) Council Of Europe

 Council of Europe is an international organization of 46

member states in the European region.
 The Council is most prominent for the European Convention
on Human Rights 1950, which serves as the basis for the
European Court of Human Rights.
 The Council of Europe is not to be confused with the Council
of the European Union or the European Council, as it is a
separate organization and not part of the European Union.
 The Council was set up to:
• Defend human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law
• Develop continent-wide agreements to standardise member
countries’ social and legal practices,

102 Sonal R.
5) World Trade Organization

 The growing importance of electronic commerce in global

trade led World Trade Organization (WTO) members to adopt a
declaration on global electronic commerce on 20 May 1998 at
their Second Ministerial Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
 The Declaration directed the WTO General Council to establish
a comprehensive work programme to examine all trade-related
issues arising from electronic commerce, and to present a
progress report to the WTO’s Third Ministerial Conference.

103 Sonal R.
5) World Trade Organization

 The 1998 declaration also included a so-called moratorium stating that

“members will continue their current practice of not imposing customs
duties on electronic transmission”.
 The issues discussed included:
• classification of the content of certain electronic transmissions;
• development-related issues; fiscal implications of e-commerce;
• relationship (and possible substitution effects) between e-commerce and
traditional forms of commerce;
• imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions; competition;
jurisdiction and applicable law/other legal issues.

104 Sonal R.
6) World Intellectual Property Organization
 WIPO, the Geneva based World Intellectual Property Organization has
a worldwide coverage with179 member states.
 The purpose of WIPO is to “to promote the protection of intellectual
property throughout the world through cooperation among states”.
(Art. 3 WIPO Convention).
 WIPO is the forum for international IP policy making, development
and administration of the 23 international treaties of which it is the
custodian.
 Migration of intellectual property to the digital world, IP being ideally
suited to digitization, is the order of the day. IP on the net is vulnerable
because infinite number of perfect copies can be made and easily
distributed through digital networks worldwide. There is therefore
understandably a need to protect internet content including
information, music, software, films, business methods, databases, etc.

105 Sonal R.
6) World Intellectual Property Organization
 Among the IP Issues on the Internet, the problem of the
abusive registration of trademarks as domain names
known in other words as cyber squatting is one of the
areas that the WIPO addresses.
 The WIPO works through Uniform Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy adopted by ICANN, and
provides the services of a Domain name registrar.
 It also provides for alternative dispute resolution services
through its Arbitration and Mediation centre.

106 Sonal R.
6) World Intellectual Property Organization
 Significant issues in the field of copyright have been examined for a
number of years through various public and private processes, at
WIPO and other international organizations, and at national and
regional levels.
 Significant progress has been made, with international consensus
having already emerged on some of these issues.
 In 1996, two treaties were adopted by consensus by more than 100
countries at WIPO:
1. the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and
2. the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) (commonly
referred to as the “Internet Treaties”).
 The treaties, each having reached their 30th ratification or accession,
both have entered into force: the WCT on March 6, 2002, and the
WPPT on May 20, 2002.
107 Sonal R.
6) World Intellectual Property Organization
 The WIPO Internet Treaties are designed to update and supplement
the existing international treaties on copyright and related rights,
namely, the Berne Convention and the Rome Convention.
 They respond to the challenges posed by the digital technologies
and, in particular, the dissemination of protected material over the
global networks that make up the Internet.
 The contents of the Internet Treaties can be divided into three parts:
(1) incorporation of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement not
previously included explicitly in WIPO treaties (e.g. protection of
computer programs and original databases as literary works under
copyright law);
(2) updates not specific to digital technologies (e.g., the generalized right
of communication to the public); and
(3) provisions that specifically address the impact of digital technologies.

108 Sonal R.
Objectives

The objectives of these international organizations are

 to give equal status to electronic documents with the paper based
documents,
 to connect government departments, health centres, universities
and other educational and research organizations via Internet thus
 to promote e-governance,
 to make the computer and internet accessible to all irrespective of
the economic status etc,
 to encourage the development of software in regional languages so
that every section of the society may be benefited by the
information and communication technology, to encourage the
development devices and software for the persons with disabilities
so that they may also be benefited by the ICT revolution etc.
109 Sonal R.
 THANKYOU !

110 Sonal R.