Article 29 Preservation Request
Definition
An expedited mechanism under the Budapest Convention allowing a signatory state to ask another signatory to preserve specific computer data for at least 60 days while a formal MLAT request is prepared. It does not transfer the data; it only prevents deletion while the formal request is processed.
- Instrument
- Budapest Convention on Cybercrime
- Provision
- Article 29
- Minimum preservation period
- 60 days
- Effect
- Prevents deletion, does not transfer data
- Used alongside
- Formal MLAT request
Common questions
Why is a preservation request needed if an MLAT request is already the way to get the data?+
MLAT requests take weeks or months to prepare and process, during which volatile data such as logs or account records can be routinely deleted; the preservation request buys that time without requiring the full formal request to be ready first.
Can investigators use the preserved data directly once it is frozen?+
No. Article 29 only obliges the requested state to keep the data intact; actual disclosure and transfer to the requesting authority still requires the separate formal mutual legal assistance process or another lawful channel.
Related terms
- Budapest Convention
- The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (2001), the first binding international treaty on cyber offences. Requires signatory states to criminalise illegal...
- Central Authority
- The government body designated under an MLAT or domestic law to send and receive formal mutual legal assistance requests. In the US...
- Chain of Custody (Cross-Border)
- The documented record of every person who handled digital evidence from its original collection in a foreign jurisdiction through its transfer, receipt,...
- G7 24/7 Network
- An informal around-the-clock contact network originally established by G7 countries and now including additional states, allowing law enforcement to request urgent informal...
- Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)
- A bilateral or multilateral treaty under which signatory states agree to assist each other in gathering evidence for criminal investigations. MLATs define...