On October 28, 2020, 116 Chinese prosecutors from around the country gathered in Beijing to learn the newest topics in cybercrime. This professional training was organised by the China-EU School of Law (CESL) at the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), in collaboration with the Chinese National Prosecutor’s College (NPC). It was the 30th session of CESL’s “Chinese Prosecutor Professional Training Programme” held since CESL was founded by the European Union and the Chinese government in 2008. The NPC is one of CESL’s founding Consortium Partners and over 2500 Chinese prosecutors have now benefitted from such CESL trainings.
The speaker was Magistrate Jacques Martinon from the French Ministry of Justice, a world-leading expert on cybercrime. After working as an investigating Judge, in 2016 Mr Martinon joined the Department of Criminal Affairs and Graces of the French Ministry of Justice, with the mission to integrate the fight against and prevent all forms of cybercrime. He is the Head of that department for France and also the French representative of the European Judicial Cybercrime Network. He regularly writes articles and provides training on these topics, including at the national session on "Digital Sovereignty and Cybersecurity" as well as serving as a lecturer at Science-Po Paris.
Mr Martinon’s thorough presentations focused on various subjects ranging from darknets and encrypted communications, to cryptocurrencies, to electronic evidence, and finally, international cooperation in these areas. He captivated everyone’s interest not only with theoretical discussion but looking at real cases and current practices. The Chinese prosecutors asked him multiple questions which he answered with both clarity and detail.
Before giving certificates to the attending prosecutors, Prof Monty Silley, the European Executive Co-Dean of CESL, and Prof Zhou Hongbo, the Vice President of the NPC, gave speeches. They both stressed the crucially important role of prosecutors in preventing and bringing cyber criminals to justice. As more interactions and transactions continue to take place online, there will inevitably be more online criminal activity. In this quickly evolving field, the law is constantly struggling to keep pace with the newest and most cutting-edge developments. Therefore, it also requires constant re-education of law enforcement, to understand the newest technologies and all the ways these can be misused.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Martinon spoke online from Paris, France, to a full conference room in Beijing. It was the first time in the history of the NPC to conduct cross-border live online teaching, which is an innovation on foreign-related trainings. Ms Malin Späth from CESL’s European Consortium Office at the University of Hamburg and Ms Chen Yingfang from CESL’s Beijing Office at CUPL helped plan and organise this expert training. All materials were available in both English and Chinese, while the presentations were in French and simultaneously translated to Chinese.
