Legislating for Cybercrimes in the Maldives: Challenges and Prospects

The growth of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has changed the way of life for many people in the Maldives. Unfortunately, with the benefits also comes the threats. The use of ICT have added new dimensions of threats such as online fraud and forgery, hacking into protected systems and dissemination of pornography. Hence, deterring cybercrime is crucial for the national security of the country. Adoption of an appropriate legislation to protect from abuse of ICTs for criminal purposes should be the highest priority for the legislators, as the speed of advancement of ICTs have challenged many areas of existing legislation. This article studies the legislative approaches used to regulate cybercrime, using the cybercrime offences highlighted in the Cybercrime Convention. The cyber laws of England and Australia are discussed comparatively in order to identify whether the existing law is adequate, needs to be modified or there is a need for new laws to be enacted in the Maldives. This article is divided into five parts. Part one makes a brief introduction to the existing Maldivian regulatory framework. The second part of the article discusses the need for reform in the country and the lacuna in the existing penal legislation. The third part will examine the areas where modification or new laws are required. This will lead to the fourth part of the article which identifies the legislative approaches that needs to be taken in order to regulate cybercrime by relying on the Cybercrime Convention as a guide. Finally, the fifth part of the article concludes by recommending new provisions or modifications whichever is necessary to adequately address the issue of cybercrime.