African Union Legal Instrument
Article 30:
1.
2.
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Adapting certain offences to Information and Communication
Technologies
Property Offences
a)
State Parties shall take the necessary legislative and/or regulatory
measures to criminalize the violation of property such as theft, fraud,
handling of stolen property, abuse of trust, extortion of funds and blackmail
involving computer data;
b)
State Parties shall take the necessary legislative and/or regulatory
measures to consider as aggravating circumstances the use of information
and communication technologies to commit offences such as theft, fraud,
handling of stolen property, abuse of trust, extortion of funds, terrorism and
money laundering;
c)
State Parties shall take the necessary legislative and/or regulatory
measures to specifically include “by means of digital electronic
communication” such as the Internet in listing the means of public
dissemination provided for under the criminal law of State Parties;
d)
State Parties shall take the necessary criminal legislative measures to
restrict access to protected systems which have been classified as critical
national defence infrastructure due to the critical national security data they
contain.
Criminal liability for legal persons
State Parties shall take the necessary legislative measures to ensure that legal persons
other than the State, local communities and public institutions can be held responsible
for the offences provided for by this Convention, committed on their behalf by their
organs or representatives. The liability of legal persons does not exclude that of the
natural persons who are the perpetrators of or accomplices in the same offences.
Article 31:
1.
Adapting certain sanctions to Information and Communication
Technologies
Criminal Sanctions
a)
State Parties shall take the necessary legislative measures to ensure that
the offences provided for under this Convention are punishable by effective,
proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties;
b)
State Parties shall take the necessary legislative measures to ensure that
the offences provided for under this Convention are punishable by
appropriate penalties under their national legislations;