LONDON, UK: Europe's top human rights body questioned Britain's commitment to fighting cybercrime and terrorism on Tuesday, asking why it had failed for more than four years to ratify key agreements.

The Council of Europe, which marks its 60th anniversary on Tuesday, expressed bafflement at Britain's failure to ratify three major conventions on cross-border crime, including one designed to combat the financing of terrorism.

In the case of cybercrime, not only has the convention been adopted by other leading European states, but also by the United States, which while not one of the Council of Europe's 47 members is still entitled to sign up to its conventions.

"What is disappointing is that the government of the United Kingdom have not yet ratified it," Terry Davis, the secretary general of the Council of Europe and a former British Labour Party politician, told Reuters in an interview.

"I find it very strange... By definition cybercrime is international. It's an international problem that requires an international solution."

The convention allows signatories to communicate with one another instantaneously when there is the suspicion of cybercrime being committed, and standardises offences across countries, increasing the likelihood of prosecution.

"I've never been given any satisfactory explanation of why it hasn't been ratified except that, well, it takes us time to do these things," Davis said, adding that he would be raising the issue with Britain's Minister of Justice, Jack Straw.

The convention on cybercrime was drawn up in November 2001 while the two other conventions, on the prevention of terrorism and on money-laundering, including the cross-border financing of terrorism, were introduced in May 2005.

"It's about recruitment of terrorists to commit acts of terrorism in other countries," Davis said of the anti-terrorism convention. "It's been open for ratification for four years now. Given that the UK is very concerned about terrorism, has direct experience of terrorism, I find it very strange."

Britain's Ministry of Justice and the Home Office (interior ministry) did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

While Britain has not ratified the cybercrime and terrorism agreements, it has ratified another on combating human trafficking, bringing it into force just last month.

Human rights record

As well as concern about Britain's slowness in signing up to international agreements, Davis rejected recent criticism by a senior British law lord of the European Court of Human Rights, a division of the Council of Europe.

Lord Leonard Hoffmann, Britain's second-highest law lord until his retirement last month, had suggested in a speech that the European Court of Human Rights was over-extending its jurisdiction, becoming akin to a Supreme Court of Europe.

The court rules on high-profile rights cases and has in the past overruled decisions handed down in Britain's top court.

"I have a great deal of admiration for Lord Hoffmann, but there were a number of things that were disappointing about his speech," said Davis.

"He gave the impression that he resented anybody overruling judges in the United Kingdom. That is to say that those people who have gone to the European Court of Human Rights and had judgments in the United Kingdom overruled by the court, that they should continue to suffer injustice.

"Is he saying that judges in the United Kingdom are supreme and cannot be questioned? That they cannot be checked?

"Twelve hundred years of legal history (in Britain) is no guarantee of justice," he said.