International Law Commons^™

China’S New Law On Foreign Relations: Transforming The Rules-Based International Order With Chinese Characteristics, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

In 2023 China adopted a comprehensive Law on Foreign Relations. Although the law is intended to shape China’s diplomatic relations and its cultural, economic, and other exchanges, as well as China’s relations with the United Nations and other international organizations, implementation of the law will be guided by (inter alia) Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The law makes clear that China’s foreign relations will be conducted to uphold its system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, safeguard its sovereignty, unification and territorial integrity, and promote its economic and social development. This revisionist “rule by …

Anatomy Of China’S Maritime Strategy: Threatening The Maritime Order Through Its National Legislation And Self-Centered Interpretation Of Unclos, Shigeki Sakamoto

International Law Studies

While the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes an objective framework for the coordinated handling of the use of the sea by States in the exercise of their legislative, judicial, and executive powers, China’s legislative bodies, in enacting domestic laws for the fulfillment of treaty obligations, distort obligations in its domestic laws to secure their own national interests. For example, Article 6.2 of China’s Territorial Sea Law violates articles of UNCLOS by denying the right of innocent passage. In addition, China is extending its jurisdiction over security to the contiguous zone with Article 13 …

One Treaty To Apply Them All? Defining Maritime Terrorism By Cross-References And Reservations: The Asean Region Example, Arron N. Honniball

International Law Studies

Defining terms will shape a State’s treaty obligations, the domestic legislation necessary, the availability of cooperative mechanisms, and norm diffusion. Maritime terrorism is an umbrella term referring to the piecemeal approach of treaties creating offenses for identified acts at sea. Further treaties cross-reference the offenses in a selection of global instruments to create related offenses. This includes financing of terrorism (Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism (ICSFT)) and regional maritime terrorism (ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism (ACCT)). All cross-referenced instruments shall apply to define ICFST or ACCT offenses unless a State excludes, by reservation, a cross-referenced instrument …

Can Turkey Legally Close Its Straits To Russian Warships? It’S Complicated, James Kraska

International Law Studies

This article originally appeared in Foreign Policy, March 1, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/ 01/turkey-black-sea-straits-russia-ships-ukraine-war/.

Closing The Turkish Straits In Times Of War, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

This article originally appeared in Articles of War, the online publication of the Lieber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, Mar. 3, 2022, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/closing-turkish-straits-war/.

International Law Considerations For 21st Century Engagements At Sea, Vice Admiral Darse E. “Del” Crandall Jr.

International Law Studies

Keynote address by the Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy at the Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference at the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, May 16, 2022.

Double Classification Of Non-Consensual State Interventions: Magic Protection Or Pandora’S Box?, Pauline Lesaffre

International Law Studies

The classification under international humanitarian law of certain cross-border armed conflicts against an organized armed group remains controversial. More specifically, cross-border armed conflicts resulting from a non-consensual State intervention, such as the United States’ intervention in Syria (without Syrian consent) against the Islamic State, still divide legal scholarship regarding their appropriate classification. One theory argues for a single classification of non-international armed conflict between the intervening State and the organized armed group; another theory relies on a double classification of non-consensual State interventions, adding to the non-international armed conflict an international armed conflict between the intervening State and the territorial …

Maritime Counter-Narcotics Agreements, Office Of The Staff Judge Advocate

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

The Prohibition On Intervention Under International Law And Cyber Operations, Ori Pomson

International Law Studies

Given that cyber technologies have made way for attempts to influence the affairs of other States in novel and unique ways, scholars have turned to the international legal rule which is prima facie most relevant in addressing such meddling; namely, the prohibition on intervention. Moreover, there appears to be quite a wide-ranging consensus in scholarship that the prohibition on intervention applies to a broad range of cyber operations. In contrast to such scholarship, this article argues that, under the lex lata, the prohibition on intervention only applies to acts amounting to a use of force or constituting support for …

The Un Security Council And The Saga Of “Global Legislation”, Gadi Ezra

International Law Studies

The release of the UN Security Council from the “veto chains” that characterized the Cold War has led it to intensively engage in a wide spectrum of conflicts and issues. This expanded activity has peaked around its “global legislation” attempts. Although often used in the legal literature, this term is vague and contested. Scholarly work occasionally discusses the Council’s alleged global legislation, but without initially offering a proper working definition of the term. Arguments both for and against are frequently laid incoherently and can roughly be divided into two types: those assessing the Council’s authority to engage in global legislation, …

Drawing The Cyber Baseline: The Applicability Of Existing International Law To The Governance Of Information And Communication Technologies, Dapo Akande, Antonio Coco, Talita De Souza Dias

International Law Studies

"Cyberspace" is often treated as a new domain of State activity in international legal discourse. This has led to the assumption that for international law to apply to cyber operations carried out by States or non-State actors, "cyber-specific" State practice and opinio juris must be demonstrated. This article challenges that assumption on five different bases. First, it argues that rules of general international law are generally applicable to all domains, areas, or types of State activity. In their interpretation and application to purported new domains, limitations to their scope of application cannot be presumed. Second, this article demonstrates that the …

In Defense Of Pure Sovereignty In Cyberspace, Kevin Jon Heller

International Law Studies

States currently endorse three different positions concerning the international wrongfulness of cyber operations that penetrate computer systems located on the territory of another state but do not rise to the level of a use of force or prohibited intervention. The first position is that such low-intensity cyber operations are never wrongful, because sovereignty is a principle of international law, not a primary rule that can be independently violated. The second is that low-intensity cyber operations are always wrongful, because sovereignty is a primary rule of international law that is violated by any non-consensual penetration of a computer system located on …

The Plea Of Necessity: An Oft Overlooked Response Option To Hostile Cyber Operations, Louise Arimatsu, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

States are increasingly focused on the measures—cyber or otherwise—that they can take in response to hostile cyber operations. Although cyber operations are usually responded to with acts of “retorsion” (acts that are lawful, although unfriendly), international law recognizes other self-help mechanisms that allow for more robust responses. In the cyber context, most attention has focused on countermeasures and self-defense. Yet, both are subject to various limitations that constrain their availability.

This article examines a further option, the so-called “plea of necessity.” It allows States to respond to a hostile cyber operation when the action taken would otherwise be unlawful but …

Confronting Space Debris Through The Regime Evolution Approach, Gershon Hasin

International Law Studies

This article examines the complex policy problem of space debris and elaborates a proposal for a bottom-up cooperative regime for its mitigation. While debris proliferation generates costs and threatens the safety of personnel and equipment, this policy problem is compounded by the realization that debris constitutes a by-product of desirable space activities which facilitate national progress and domestic increases in values. It is further complicated by increased private participation, conflicting interests of participants, and a global order susceptible to outlier behavior.

Scholars attempting to tackle this policy problem have failed to appreciate the complex legislative process through which international rules …

Cyber Attribution And State Responsibility, William Banks

International Law Studies

We might expect international law to specifically address cyber attribution requirements due to the significance of attribution in framing the legal responsibility of States and the boundaries of responsive actions by victim States. However, there is little international law of cyber attribution, and what law there is exists largely by implication. Likewise, there is only a murky and highly contested law of State responsibility that theoretically constrains the vast majority of State-sponsored cyberattacks. Because victim States cannot engage in countermeasures unless they attribute a cyberattack to a State, attribution can serve simultaneously to constrain and empower victim States. However, the …

Application Of The Due Diligence Principle To Cyber Operations, Tomohiro Mikanagi

International Law Studies

The discreet use of proxies by States renders it difficult to prove attribution to States under the existing rules of attribution. On the other hand, the due diligence principle, if applicable, does not require attribution but can lead to the invocation of State responsibility for cyber operations emanating from the territory of other States. In the Corfu Channel judgment the ICJ recognized “every State’s obligation not to allow knowingly its territory to be used for acts contrary to the rights of other States,” and UN Member States agreed that existing international law applies to cyber operations. However, the UN Members …

Is A South China Sea Code Of Conduct Viable?, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

For over twenty years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has stonewalled efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to negotiate a binding Code of Conduct that would form the basis for a peaceful and durable solution to the territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). At the same time, the PRC engaged in a series of malign activities, to include the militarization of several reclaimed artificial islands, that have forever changed the landscape and status quo of the SCS. In 2020, the PRC unexpectedly called on ASEAN to resume the negotiations as soon as …

Enclosure Of The Oceans Versus The Common Heritage Of Mankind: The Inherent Tension Between The Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles And The Area, Michael W. Lodge

International Law Studies

The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a major achievement of diplomacy in the late twentieth century and is rightly regarded as the “constitution for the ocean.” UNCLOS has withstood the test of time and has demonstrated its flexibility and adaptability to changing circumstances. Notwithstanding, there is an underlying tension at the heart of UNCLOS as it tries to reconcile two fundamentally different approaches—the exclusivity of coastal State jurisdiction versus the international character and shared space of the Area beyond national jurisdiction. As the search for mineral deposits in the Area intensifies, and as …

Neutrality And Cyberspace: Bridging The Gap Between Theory And Reality, Noam Neuman

International Law Studies

While there exists a broad consensus among States that international law generally applies to the cyber domain, particular views regarding the applicability of the law of neutrality have rarely been put forward, and presently there seems to be insufficient State practice and domain-specific opinio juris in this regard. Against this backdrop, several attempts have been made throughout the years to apply certain neutrality rules to cyberspace by referring to analogies from other domains. However, this legal regime provides an emblematic example of what the introduction of traditional rules of international law, formulated with the physical domains of warfare in mind, …

Foreign Cyber Interference In Elections, Michael N. Schmitt

International Law Studies

In the 2020 U.S. elections, Russia authorized and conducted influence operations designed to support former President Trump, although it did not attempt to alter any technical aspect of the voting process. Russia was not alone. Iran mounted a multi-pronged covert influence campaign intended to undercut Trump’s reelection prospects, while other foreign actors–like Lebanese Hizballah, Cuba, and Venezuela–also tried to influence the election. Interestingly, China did not conduct operations designed to alter the outcome, although it did consider doing so. The phenomenon of election meddling, however, extends well beyond the United States to such countries as Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, …

Military Action To Recover Occupied Land: Lawful Self-Defense Or Prohibited Use Of Force? The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Revisited, Tom Ruys, Felipe Rodriguez Silvestre

International Law Studies

In September 2020, heavy fighting erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan long controlled by Armenia. After two months of military confrontations, a tripartite ceasefire was concluded, drastically altering the pre-existing territorial status quo.

The "Second Nagorno-Karabakh War" brings to light a fundamental question for international law on the use of force—and one that has received limited attention in legal doctrine. The question is this: when part of a State’s territory is occupied by another State for an extended period of time, can the former still invoke the right of self-defense to justify …

U.S. Recognition Of Japanese Sovereignty Over The Senkaku Islands, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

Every U.S. administration from Truman to Kennedy recognized Japanese residual sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands. U.S. policy changed, however, to one of neutrality under the Nixon administration during the negotiations of the Okinawa Reversion Treaty. The change in policy was not based on a belief that Japan did not retain sovereignty over the islands, but rather was done to appease the Republic of China over its impending expulsion from the United Nations and to break an impasse of the ongoing textile negotiations with Taipei. The administration’s overtures to China, culminating in Nixon’s visit to China contributed to the decision. Since …

The “External Element” Of The Obligation To Ensure Respect For The Geneva Conventions: A Matter Of Treaty Interpretation, Marten Zwanenburg

International Law Studies

In Common Article 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, States Parties undertake to “respect and ensure respect” for the Conventions. This article focuses on the question whether an interpretation of that provision leads to the conclusion that it contains an external element. The term “External element” refers to an obligation for States to ensure respect for the Conventions not only internally (i.e., by their nationals as a whole), but also by other States, and possibly even by organized armed groups involved in extraterritorial non-international armed conflicts. The article applies the rules of treaty interpretation, as codified in Articles 31 – …

Protection Of Data In Armed Conflict, Robin Geiss, Henning Lahmann

International Law Studies

This article presents a novel way to conceptualize the protection of data in situations of armed conflict. Although the question of the targeting of data through adversarial military cyber operations and its implications for the qualification of such conduct under International Humanitarian Law has been on scholars’ and states’ radar for the last few years, there remain a number of misunderstandings as to how to think about the notion of “data.” Based on a number of fictional scenarios, the article clarifies the pertinent terminology and makes some expedient distinctions between various types of data. It then analyzes how existing international …

Legal Reviews Of War Algorithms, Tobias Vestner, Altea Rossi

International Law Studies

States and scholars recognize legal reviews of weapons, means or methods of warfare as an essential tool to ensure the legality of military applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Yet, are existing practices fit for this task? This article identifies necessary adaptations to current practices. For AI-enabled systems that are used in relation to targeting, legal reviews need to assess the systems’ compliance with additional rules of international law, in particular targeting law under international humanitarian law (IHL). This article discusses the procedural ramifications thereof. The article further finds that AI systems’ predictability problem needs to be addressed by the technical …

Ukraine V. The Russian Federation: Navigating Conflict Over Sovereignty Under Unclos, NilüFer Oral

International Law Studies

Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, or according to Russia, its accession following a referendum, Ukraine brought several international cases against the Russian Federation, including two cases under Annex VII of UNCLOS: The Dispute Concerning Coastal State Rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, and Kerch Strait in 2016 and The Detention of Three Ukrainian Naval Vessels in 2019. At the center of these disputes is the conflict between Ukraine and Russia over sovereignty of Crimea. Russia contested jurisdiction in all cases invoking different exceptions under UNCLOS, including the argument that the dispute concerns sovereignty over Crimea and …

Maritime Police Law Of The People’S Republic Of China, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

China’s new Maritime Police Law (MPL) purports to regulate the duties of China’s maritime police agencies, including the China Coast Guard, and safeguard China’s sovereignty, security, and rights and interest. The MPL has potentially far-reaching application, as China claims extensive maritime areas off its mainland and in the South China Sea. This expansive application of maritime law enforcement jurisdiction is problematic given that most of China’s maritime claims are inconsistent with international law. To the extent that the MPL purports to assert jurisdiction over foreign flagged vessels in disputed areas or on the high seas, it contravenes international law. Numerous …

Nuclear Terrorism: Statutory Shortcomings And Prosecutorial Opportunities, Rohan Mishra

International Law Studies

In 2016, President Barack Obama warned that “[t]he danger of a terrorist group obtaining and using a nuclear weapon is one of the greatest threats to global security.” Thus far, however, U.S. and international efforts to address nuclear terrorism have faced a fundamental dilemma: While the importance of preventing this threat is unquestioned, there has been limited opportunity or need to conduct prosecutions that hinge on nuclear terrorism charges. This dilemma reflects the current piecemeal approach to nuclear terrorism, which prioritizes policies that address the “back-end” risk of nuclear terrorism (i.e., the detonation of nuclear weapons or attack of nuclear …

Command Accountability For Ai Weapon Systems In The Law Of Armed Conflict, James Kraska

International Law Studies

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in weapon systems enhances the ability of operational forces to fuse multispectral sensors to understand the warfighting environment, positively identify, track, and select targets, and engage them with the most appropriate effects. The potential for AI to help close the “kill chain” has raised concern that this creates a gap in accountability between the decisions of humans and the acts of machines, with humans no longer accountable for decisions made during armed conflict. This study suggests that there is no gap because the military commander is always directly and individually accountable for the employment …

Israel’S Perspective On Key Legal And Practical Issues Concerning The Application Of International Law To Cyber Operations, Roy Schöndorf

International Law Studies

The speech given by the Israeli Deputy Attorney General (International Law) at the Naval War College’s event on “Disruptive Technologies and International Law” sets out, for the first time, Israel’s position on the application of international law to cyber operations. Consistent with the position taken by the vast majority of States thus far, Israel considers that international law applies to such operations. The speech stresses that questions pertaining to the identification and application of relevant legal rules remain, given the profound differences between the cyber domain and traditional domains of warfare—land, sea, and air. Therefore, in Israel’s view, a cautious …