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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Caroline Affair In The Evolving International Law Of Self-Defense, Matthew C. Waxman
The Caroline Affair In The Evolving International Law Of Self-Defense, Matthew C. Waxman
Faculty Scholarship
The "Caroline" incident – an 1837 raid by British Canadian militia across the Niagara River border to sink an American steamboat being used by Canadian insurgents – is well-known to many international lawyers. United States Secretary of State Daniel Webster’s resulting correspondence with British representative Lord Ashburton is often cited today as a key authority on customary international self-defense standards. University of Ottawa professor Craig Forcese has produced a valuable new history and analysis of that event, its legal context, and its continuing influence: "Destroying the Caroline: The Frontier Raid that Reshaped the Right to War." As explained in this …
Cyber Strategy & Policy: International Law Dimensions, Matthew C. Waxman
Cyber Strategy & Policy: International Law Dimensions, Matthew C. Waxman
Faculty Scholarship
Important international law questions for formulating cyber strategy and policy include whether and when a cyber-attack amounts to an “act of war,” or, more precisely, an “armed attack” triggering a right of self-defense, and how the international legal principle of “sovereignty” could apply to cyber activities. International law in this area is not settled. There is, however, ample room within existing international law to support a strong cyber strategy, including a powerful deterrent. The answers to many international law questions discussed below depend on specific, case-by-case facts, and are likely to be highly contested for a long time to come. …
Self-Defensive Force Against Cyber Attacks: Legal, Strategic And Political Dimensions, Matthew C. Waxman
Self-Defensive Force Against Cyber Attacks: Legal, Strategic And Political Dimensions, Matthew C. Waxman
Faculty Scholarship
When does a cyber attack (or threat of cyber attack) give rise to a right of self-defense – including armed self-defense – and when should it? By "cyber attack" I mean the use of malicious computer code or electronic signals to alter, disrupt, degrade or destroy computer systems or networks or the information or programs on them. It is widely believed that sophisticated cyber attacks could cause massive harm – whether to military capabilities, economic and financial systems, or social functioning – because of modern reliance on system interconnectivity, though it is highly contested how vulnerable the United States and …
Regulating Resort To Force: Form And Substance Of The Un Charter Regime, Matthew C. Waxman
Regulating Resort To Force: Form And Substance Of The Un Charter Regime, Matthew C. Waxman
Faculty Scholarship
Much of the international legal debate about regulating force and self-defence takes place on a substantive axis, focusing on the scope of force prohibitions and exceptions. This article instead focuses on their doctrinal form, or modes of argumentation and analysis through which facts are assessed in relation to legal directives, to illuminate how many of the assumptions about substantive policy goals and risks tend to be coupled with other assumptions about the way international law operates in this field. It shows that the flexible, adaptable standards favoured by some states, scholars, and other international actors and the fixed rules and …
Cyber-Attacks And The Use Of Force: Back To The Future Of Article 2(4), Matthew C. Waxman
Cyber-Attacks And The Use Of Force: Back To The Future Of Article 2(4), Matthew C. Waxman
Faculty Scholarship
This Article makes two overarching arguments. First, strategy is a major driver of legal evolution. Most scholarship and commentary on cyber-attacks capture only one dimension of this point, focusing on how international law might be interpreted or amended to take account of new technologies and threats. The focus here, however, is on the dynamic interplay of law and strategy – strategy generates reappraisal and revision of law, while law itself shapes strategy – and the moves and countermoves among actors with varying interests, capabilities, and vulnerabilities. The purpose is not to come down in favor of one legal interpretation or …