The ESCWA Cyber Legislation Digest
Freedom of expression via electronic communication;
Protection of intellectual property;
Rules of evidence and the bases for decision and rulings;
Combating terrorism on the Internet – cyberterrorism;
Net neutrality;
ICT laws and regulations;
Computer forensics;
e-Government;
Adjudication via the Internet;
Ethical and professional controls in the Internet;
The basis and control of cloud processing
The above areas were too numerous and would have created an obstacle to building
consensus with a need for early implementation of cyber legislation. Therefore, ESCWA recategorized the above items into six main directives for improved focus and ease of
development. The final six directives are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
5.5
e-Communication and freedom of expression;
e-Signature and e-Transactions;
e-Commerce and consumer protection;
The processing and protection of personal data;
The prevention and judicial processing of cybercrime;
Intellectual Property Rights in ICT and cyberspace.
Stakeholders of the Cyber Legislation Harmonization Project
ESCWA is currently implementing this project in coordination with several regional and
international organizations. The purpose is to develop cyber legislation which would include
the League of Arab States, the North Africa Office of the Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA-NA) and others. ESCWA is notably collaborating with high level experts, government
ministries, and specialized partners such as national and regional ICT societies and lawyer
syndicates.
Beneficiaries of the Project
Most parties in the ESCWA region or the Arab world will directly or indirectly benefit from
the results of the Harmonization Project. However, to arrive at a practical working plan,
ESCWA focused on the following beneficiaries:
Decision makers concerned with cyber legislation.
The ministries concerned with cyber legislation such as the ministries of justice,
commerce, interior and telecommunications.
Legislators, judges and lawyers.
The private sector.
Professional bodies and communities.
Members of the civil society.
27