Preview

Digital Law Journal

Advanced search

International humanitarian law in cyberspace: Ratione materiae, ratione temporis and problem of cyber-attack qualification

https://doi.org/10.38044/2686-9136-2021-2-1-64-82

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyse problems arising from applying the rules of International Humanitarian Law in cyberspace, particularly the problems of ratione materiae and ratione temporis of this branch of Public International Law in cyberspace. The rapid development of cyber technologies that can be used within an armed conflict affirm the applicability of this research. The existence of “The Tallinn Manual 2.0” on International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations also confirms the impact of this topic on the modern world. The fact that parties in armed conflicts use new technologies in cyberspace does not affect the applicability of IHL rules to such military actions. In the context of this issue, a key question which instigates scientific discussion is that of which cyber operations are subject to the regulation of the law of cyber armed conflicts. The urgent need to study this problem stems from the fact that cyberspace is not an ordinary theatre of war, with the means and methods of warfare used in it being in no way related to the traditional use of armed force; given this quality of cyber operations, it is essential to understand which areas may be subject to IHL. The article analyses two main doctrinal points of view in relation to this problem; as this doctrine (in the context of this issue) also addresses the legal qualification of cyber-attacks, the article also raises this topical issue. Based on the results of this analysis, the author concludes that, despite all the evidence of theoretical conclusions regarding the problems under analysis, they still do not seem comprehensive due to the lack of relevant state practice, which needs to be developed.

About the Author

S. Y. Garkusha-Bozhko
School of Higher Sportsmanship in Water Sports named after Y. S. Tyukalov
Russian Federation

Sergey Y. Garkusha-Bozhko — LLM in Law, Legal Advisor

1-10, Naberezhnaya Grebnogo Canala, St. Petersburg, Russia, 197110



References

1. Backstrom, A. & Henderson, I. (2012). New capabilities in warfare: An overview of contemporary technological developments and the associated legal and engineering issues in Article 36 weapons reviews. International Review of the Red Cross, 94(886), 483–514.

2. Bothe, M., Partsch, K. J. & Solf, W. A. (1982). New rules for victims of armed conflicts: Commentary to the two 1977 protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

3. Brown, G. D. (2011). Why Iran didn’t admit Stuxnet was an attack. Joint Force Quarterly, 63, 70–73.

4. Buchan, R. (2012). Cyber attacks: Unlawful uses of force or prohibited interventions? Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 17(2), 211–227.

5. Danel’yan, A. A. (2020). Mezhdunarodno-pravovoe regulirovanie kiberprostranstava [International legal regulation of cyberspace]. Obrazovanie i Pravo, 1, 261–269.

6. David, E. (2011). Printsipy prava vooruzhennykh konfliktov: Kurs lektsii, prochitannykh na yuridicheskom fakultete Otkrytogo Brussel’ckogo Universiteta [Principes de droit des conflits armés: Précis de la faculté de droit de l’Université Libre de Bruxelles]. CICR.

7. Dinniss, H. H. (2012). Cyber warfare and the laws of war. Cambridge University Press.

8. Dinstein, Y. (2016). The conduct of hostilities under the law of international armed conflict (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316389591

9. Droege, C. (2012). Get off my cloud: Cyber warfare, international humanitarian law, and the protection of civilians. International Review of the Red Cross, 94(886), 533–578.

10. Franklin, A. (2018). An international cyber warfare treaty: Historical analogies and future prospects. Journal of Law & Cyber Warfare, 7(1), 149–164.

11. Geiß, R. & Lahmann, H. (2012). Cyber warfare: Applying the principle of distinction in an interconnected space. Israel Law Review, 45(3), 381–399. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021223712000179

12. Hathaway, O. A., Crootof, R., Levitz, Ph., Nix, H., Nowlan, A., Perdue, W. & Spiegel, J. (2012). The law of cyber-attack. California Law Review, 100(4), 817–885.

13. Henckaerts, J.-M. & Doswald-Beck, L. (2006). International Commitee of the Red Cross. Customary international humanitarian law. Volume I: Rules. Cambridge University Press.

14. Kelsey, J. T. G. (2008). Hacking into international humanitarian law: The principles of distinction and neutrality in the age of cyber warfare. Michigan Law Review, 106(7), 1427–1451. https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol106/iss7/6

15. Lin, H. (2012). Cyber conflict and international humanitarian law. International Review of the Red Cross, 94(886), 515–531.

16. Melzer, N. (2017). International humanitarian law: A comprehensive introduction. International Commitee of the Red Cross.

17. Melzer, N. (2011). Cyberwarfare and international law. The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).

18. Demeyere, B., Henckaerts, J.-M., Hiemstra, H., & Nohle, E. (2016). The updated ICRC commentary on the Second Geneva Convention: Demystifying the law of armed conflict at sea. International Review of the Red Cross, 98(2), 401–417. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383117000376

19. Pool, P. (2013). War of the cyber world: The law of cyber warfare. The International Lawyer, 47(2), 299–323.

20. Sandoz, Y., Swinarski, C. & Zimmermann, B. (Eds.). (1987). Commentary on the additional protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. International Commitee of the Red Cross, Kluwer Academic Publishers.

21. chmitt, M. N. (2019). Wired warfare 3.0: Protecting the civilian population during cyber operations. International Review of the Red Cross, 101(1), 333–355.

22. Schmitt, M. N. (Ed.). (2017). Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the international law applicable to cyber operations. Cambridge University Press.

23. Schmitt, M. N. (2014). Rewired warfare: Rethinking the law of cyber attack. International Review of the Red Cross, 96(893), 189–206.

24. Schmitt, M. N. (Eds.). (2013). Tallinn Manual on the international law applicable to cyber warfare. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139169288

25. Schmitt, M. N. (2012a). “Attack” as a term of art in international law: The cyber operations context. 4th International Conference on Cyber Conflict Proceedings (pp. 283–293). Tallinn.

26. Schmitt, M. N. (2012b). Classification of cyber conflict. Journal of Conflict and Security Law, 17(2), 245–260. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcsl/krs018

27. Schmitt, M. N. (2011). Cyber operations and the jus in bello: Key issues. Naval War College International Law Studies, 87, 89–110. https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ils/vol87/iss1/7/

28. Schmitt, M. N. (2010). Cyber operations in international law: The use of force, collective security, self-defense and armed conflict. Proceedings of a workshop on deterring cyberattacks: Informing strategies and developing options for U.S. policy (pp. 151–178). National Research Council, Washington D. C.

29. Schmitt, M. N. (2002). Wired warfare: Computer network attack and jus in bello. International Review of the Red Cross, 84(846), 365–399.

30. Talimonchik, V. P. (2015). International legal means of combating information weapons. Russian Yearbook of International Law, Special Issue, 135–151.

31. Tikk, E., Kaska, K. & Vihul, L. (2010). International cyber incidents: Legal considerations. CCDCE.

32. Zhang, L. (2012). A Chinese perspective on cyber war. International Review of the Red Cross, 94(886), 801–807.


Review

Views: 5752


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 2686-9136 (Online)