Accessibility navigation


"Virtual disenfranchisement": cyber election meddling in the grey zones of international law

Schmitt, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7373-9557 (2018) "Virtual disenfranchisement": cyber election meddling in the grey zones of international law. Chicago Journal of International Law, 19 (1). pp. 30-67. ISSN 1529-0816

[img]
Preview
Text - Published Version
· Please see our End User Agreement before downloading.

377kB

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

Official URL: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil/vol19/iss...

Abstract/Summary

This Article examines remotely conducted election meddling by cyber means in the context of international law and asks whether such cyber operations qualify as "internationally wrongful acts." An internationally wrongful act requires both a breach of a legal obligation owed by one State to another under international law and attribution of the act to the former. The Article considers three possible breaches related to such meddling-violation of the requirement to respect sovereignty, intervention into the internal affairs of another State, and, when the cyber operations are not attributable to the State from which they were launched, breach of the due diligence obligation that requires States to ensure cyber operations with serious adverse consequences are not mounted from their territory. The Article then examines the various modalities for attributing a cyber operation to a State under international law. Whether cyber meddling in another State's election is unlawful, as well as the severity thereof, determines the range of responses available to the victim State. The Article concludes that the law applicable to remotely conducted meddling in another State's election is unsettled, thereby comprising a normative grey zone ripe for exploitation by States and non-State actors.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:No Reading authors. Back catalogue items
Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Law
ID Code:89663
Publisher:The University of Chicago Law School

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation