Loi N°1/10 du 16 mars 2022 portant prévention et répression de la cybercriminalité au Burundi

Loi N°1/10 du 16 mars 2022 portant prévention et répression de la cybercriminalité au Burundi (Law No. 1/10 of 16 March 2022 on the prevention and repression of cybercrime) is Burundi's first dedicated cybercrime statute. The draft was adopted unanimously by the National Assembly on 4 February 2022 and the law was promulgated on 16 March 2022. It was enacted to fill the gaps left by the Penal Code, under which judges had struggled to apply general criminal provisions to conduct specific to cyberspace. The law combines substantive offences with investigative procedure. Its Title III addresses offences affecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and information systems - covering illegal access to and interference with computer systems and data, illegal interception and the theft of computer data - and the law also criminalises a range of computer-enabled conduct, including computer-related fraud and forgery, identity usurpation, sextortion, the dissemination of illegal content and cyberstalking. It establishes investigative and procedural measures for the search and seizure of computer systems and data, the preservation and production of electronic data, and cooperation by electronic-communications operators and service providers, and provides for the admissibility of electronic evidence. Enforcement is carried out principally through the cybercrime service established within the National Police of Burundi (created under the 2017 Organic Law on the national police) and the Public Prosecutor's office, with the Agence de Régulation et de Contrôle des Télécommunications (ARCT) exercising a related sectoral role over the telecommunications sector. Commentators have noted that, while the law marks an important step in Burundi's digital protection, questions remain about institutional capacity and resources for effective enforcement.

1. 1Burundi's first dedicated cybercrime statute, adopted 4 February 2022 and promulgated 16 March 2022
2. 2Title III offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and information systems: illegal access, system and data interference, illegal interception and theft of computer data
3. 3Computer-related fraud and forgery and identity usurpation
4. 4Content and conduct offences including sextortion, dissemination of illegal content and cyberstalking
5. 5Investigative and procedural measures: search and seizure, preservation and production of electronic data, and operator/service-provider cooperation
6. 6Admissibility of electronic evidence
7. 7Enforced through the cybercrime service of the National Police of Burundi and the Public Prosecutor; ARCT exercises a related telecoms-sector role