Towards containing the jurisdictional problems in prosecuting cybercrimes: case reviews and responses

Abstract

This enquiry does a case study of the havoc wreaked by cybercrimes on some nations’ critical infrastructure with a view to fashioning comprehensive legal responses. Often, the suspect perpetrates his/her act from a jurisdiction, while the effects of that act are felt in another jurisdiction. The study discovers that these jurisdictional differences  pose serious problem for investigation, evidence gathering and prosecution. It is also  revealed that lack of double, triple, quadruple, and so on, criminality as the case may  be, depending on the number of affected jurisdictions, further compounds the problem.  As a result of the rising tide in cyber criminality in the world today, various theories  have been proffered by courts and jurists. After due diligent consideration of these  theories, this essay settles with a more universalist approach. Thus, in the light of the  transnational nature of cyberspace and the dispersed nature of the Internet, this study strongly suggests a global multilateral treaty which settles the thorny issue of  jurisdiction at least in relation to member states.

Key words: Jurisdictional Problems, Cybercrimes, Prosecution, Internet, Cyber Law