Marco Roscini,Cyber Operations and the Use of Force in International Law

Abstract

It is today widely accepted that cyberspace is regulated by existing positive law. Following this view, the law on the use of force, jus contra bellum as well as jus in bello, applies to cyber operations. This assumption is the starting point of the book by Dr Marco Roscini, Reader in International Law at the University of Westminster School of Law (‘it should be clear that existing primary and secondary rules of international law, including the law of state responsibility, the jus ad bellum and the jus in bello , do apply to cyber operations’, p. 40). However it remains to be examined if existing rules are sufficient enough to grasp all the new challenges raised by activities in cyberspace. Should we develop new evolutive and dynamic interpretations of existing law, or do we need to go further by adopting new rules? If one wishes to contribute in a constructive way to this debate, it is first necessary to have a clear picture of the existing positive law that can regulate cyberspace. It is only after a careful analysis of the existing legal toolbox that it will be possible to identify any gaps or difficulties in the process of ‘adaptation’ of substantive law in cyberspace. The book by Marco Roscini is particularly helpful from this point of view. It offers a precise, detailed and up-to-date analysis of cyber operations and the use of force in international law. The book is structured around five chapters covering the full spectrum of the subject: Chapter 1—Identifying the Problem and the Applicable Law; Chapter 2—Cyber Operations and the jus ad bellum; Chapter 3—The Applicability of the jus in bello to Cyber Operations; Chapter 4—Cyber Operations and the Conduct of Hostilities and Chapter 5—Cyber Operations and the Law of Neutrality. Following a positivist approach and using a very rich and well-informed scientific apparatus (as also evident in the ‘Tables of Legislation, Cases and other Documents’ at the beginning of the book) the author presents his readers with a comprehensive analysis of both treaty law and customary law in statu nascendi because, according to the author, ‘it cannot be excluded that customary international law rules specific to cyber warfare might be in the process of forming and eventually ripen’ (at p. 25).