APPLICATION OF

SOVEREIGN
TY IN
CYBER
SPACE

Eman Fatima
Eman Sethi
Rabia Sethi
Kashaf Ul Eman
Hiba
Introduction
◦ By Eman Fatima
◦International law that is
applicable in cyberspace is
the body of legal guidelines
that control how both states
and non-state actors should
behave when using and
operating the internet and
other digital technologies.
◦It covers a wide range of legal
topics, such as national security,
privacy, intellectual property,
and human rights, among
others.
General
Rules of
Sovereign
ty:
◦A state or other governing body's supreme
control over its own area, free from outside
intervention, is known as sovereignty.
◦The term "General Rules on Sovereignty" refers
to the guiding ideals that direct how the idea of
sovereignty is understood in international
relations.
◦There are following general rules of
sovereignty:
1. Territorial integrity
2. Non Intervention
3. Equality
4. Diplomatic Immunity
5. Recognition
 Sovereignty in cyberspace:
◦Sovereignty in cyberspace refers to a state's ability to govern its own cyberspace, including the ability to
regulate and control the flow of information.
◦Sovereignty in cyberspace can be seen as a way for states to protect their interests and maintain
control over their own affairs.
◦ It can also be a way for states to assert their power and influence in the international arena,
particularly in matters related to cyber security and cyber warfare.
◦ However, there is still much debate about what sovereignty in cyberspace actually means and how it
should be applied.
 Inherently Sovereign
•
Functions of State
Inherently sovereign functions refer to the core responsibilities and powers that are
traditionally exercised by a sovereign state. These functions are considered
essential for maintaining the authority and autonomy of a government over its
territory and citizens. While the specific list of inherently sovereign functions may
vary among different legal and political systems, they typically include the
following:

External Relations
National Defense and Security
Border Control and immigration
APPLICATION OF LAW TO CASE STUDIES
Cyber Attack on Sony Pictures in November 2014:
A vast amount of personal information about Sony executives and upcoming
films was made public after Sony's US affiliate was breached and sensitive
material was taken from its servers. The ransomware made more than 70% of
Sony's systems unusable, and the firm was forced to spend tens of millions of
repairing its IT infrastructure. The hack may have been carried out with the
intention of preventing Sony from releasing the North Korea-focused movie "The
Interview," which North Korea had objected to.The cyberattack was linked to
North Korea by the US. It might be stated that the incident represents an
extensive use of North Korea's law enforcement authority on the territory of
another state (presuming that criticising North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, is
illegal there). That would meet the criteria for a sovereignty violation as described
above. If the aim of the attack was to pressure the US into forbidding Sony from
in the future criticising North Korea or its leader, then it might also be considered
an act of interference. The US administration undoubtedly thought the situation
was important enough to respond with penalties and perhaps covert cyberattacks.
According to one US source, the penetration went beyond 'website defacement and
digital graffiti' to constitute an attack on computer systems. When speaking about
the attack, Secretary of State John Kerry did not specifically mention any part of
international law but did state that the hack "violated international norms."dollars
Cyber Interference with Election Infrastructure

A state could influence the electoral

system of another nation in a number of
ways, such as through hacking operations that
tamper with the results, changing the status
of voters on the electoral roll so that their vote
is only recorded as provisional, or
r emo v i n g v o t e r s ' n a m e s f r o m t h e
e l e c t o r a l r oll. T h er e are n u m e r o u s
instances of this type of activity.

For instance, in 2014, hackers broke into the

computer of the Central Election
Commission in Ukraine and changed the
results of the presidential election to show the
far-right candidate as the victor.

In 2016, the website of Ghana's Central

Election Commission was hacked, and
false results were announced while votes w e
re still being counted on the
Commission's Twitter account.
The invention of the World
Wide Web has made it easier for
states to sell propaganda to other
states. However, if the i n f o r
m a t i o n b e i n g disseminated
is not factually correct, it
could obstruct a dem oc rati c
s tate ' s r igh t t o conduct free
and fair elections. International
human rights law offers a
framework for tackling the
micro-targeting of people with
propaganda, and the right to
self-determination is also
important. Coercive attempts
to influence voting behaviour
m ay also cons titute
interference in the internal
affairs of another state.
CYBER
ESPIONAG
E Espionage i s not prohibited by
international law, but states consider the
principle of intervention to apply to i n t e
lligence services. Cyber
espionage has been suggested to
violate the principle of territorial
sovereignty, making all cyber activity
by intelligence agencies illegal. States
may actively defend themselves by
hac k i ng i nt o net w o r k s i n o t h
e r countries, but they don' t
always o p p o s e i t . W h e t h e r o r
not such activity is legal under
international law will depend on the
ultimate goal for which the data is to
be used and whether it usurps the
authority of the state.
 AGREEMENTA BETWEEN STATES ON THE ISSUE

An agreement between the US and China in 2015, wherein both states agreed to refrain from
conducting or knowingly supporting cyber-enabled theft of IP, and a communiqué released by
world leaders at the G20 Antalya Summit in 2015, which stated that "no country should
conduct" economic espionage because of the serious consequences it can have in the target
state, are just a few examples of the agreements that have been reached between states on this
issue. This practise might eventually become a standard that restricts the use of state-sponsored
economic espionage. In the interim, it would seem that the default position is that while there
is no overarching restriction on states' intelligence activities under customary international
law, those actions need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to see if they violate a specific
international law rule.
 The application of non-intervention principle in cyberspace.
• The non-intervention principle is a fundamental principle in international
relations that aims to promote sovereignty, non-interference, and the
peaceful resolution of conflicts between states. While originally applied to
traditional forms of warfare and territorial disputes, the non-intervention
principle is increasingly relevant in the context of cyberspace due to the
growing importance of digital technology and the potential for cyber
conflicts.
• The application of the non-intervention principle in cyberspace highlights
the need for responsible behavior by states in the digital domain, and
emphasizes the importance of establishing norms and rules of behavior to
prevent cyber conflict. It also involves developing effective mechanisms for
accountability, attribution, and response to cyber attacks, and for
promoting international cooperation and dialogue on cyber security issues
some key applications of the non-intervention
principle in cyberspace
• Respect for sovereignty
• Non interference
• Peaceful resolution of cyber conflicts
• International legal framework
• Protection of critical infrastructure
• Non-proliferation of cyber weapons
UN charter and Tallinn manual 2.0

• Article 2(7) of the Charter, which prohibits the UN from intervening in ‘matters
which are essentially within the jurisdiction of any state’.
• The ICJ said in Nicaragua that the non-intervention principle is ‘part and parcel of
customary international law’, notwithstanding the fact that ‘examples of trespass
against this principle are not infrequent’ The UN Charter emphasizes the principles
of non-intervention and respect for national sovereignty. This means that
countries should refrain from any activity that may infringe on the internal affairs
of another state without their consent. Tallinn Manual 2.0 is a comprehensive
document that provides guidance on the application of international law in the
context of cyber operations. It states that cyber operations that violate the
principles of non-intervention, respect for national sovereignty, and the
prohibition of the use of force are not permissible under international law
Application of international law to
cyberoperations
• In recent years, nations have launched several global, regional, and bilateral initiatives to come to an understanding
regarding the application of international law to states' cyber operations. These attempts have taken many different shapes,
including suggestions for the agreement of principles, political pronouncements, and strategic dialogue

• 2.1.1UN initiatives
• The UN GGE has been the most important regulation initiative to date. The UN GGE in 2013 and 2015 came to numerous significant legal conclusions, including
the fact that cyberspace is subject to international law, as well as the principles of sovereignty and non-interference. On responsible state behaviour, confidence-
boosting measures, and coordinated cybersecurity capacity-building,
• the UN General Assembly also approved the creation of a new UN GGE. The new UN GGE's inaugural meeting will take place in December 2019 and it will present
its report to the General Assembly in 2021.This 25-member UN member state committee has also been given the task of researching how international law governs
state action in cyberspace and coming up with strategies to encourage adherence to current cyber norms.
• Regional state-led initiatives

• As an addition to or complement to UN processes, regional and bilateral initiatives may provide a useful way of identifying areas of agreement. Prior to its first
meeting in 2019, the UN GGE had consultations with regional organisations (the African Union, EU, Organisation of American States, OSCE, and ASEAN Regional
Forum). In a number of other regional forums, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation, states have
been debating how international law should be applied to cyberspace

• 2.1.3Initiatives involving non-state actors

• The goal of these multi-stakeholder initiatives has been to increase our understanding of the principles that should guide state relations in cyberspace. These
programmes attempted to fill the gap left by the majority of nations' inaction or ambiguity in this area. They include a wide range of entities originating from
numerous industries, such as civil society, think tanks, the information technology industry, and international organisations. These include the work of the Global
Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, a multi-stakeholder body that has proposed principles, norms, and recommendations to guide responsible behaviour by
all parties in cyberspace, and Digital Peace Now, a campaign to end cyberwarfare.
Conclusion and recommendations
• State actions in cyberspace are subject to international law. The law that governs cyberspace must be based on existing customary international law in the absence of
pertinent treaties other than the UN Charter. There is currently a dearth of publicly accessible state law pertaining especially to internet. However, just like with any
other state action, current principles and regulations of international law apply to state activities in cyberspace unless there is state practise with opinio iuris to
indicate that a pertinent principle or regulation is not applicable. States' cyber activities are subject to the same rules of sovereignty as their non-cyber activities. The
idea has ramifications in the law.
• Recommendations
• The lack of effective response mechanisms to address the harm resulting from cyber activities, along with the growing complexity of the cyber domain, makes the
application of international law to cyber activities a challenging task for states. Hence, states need to explore possible recommendations to create a more robust legal
framework that can successfully address emerging cyber threats and provide a safer online environment for all.states to apply international law to cyber activities is
to strengthen existing international legal frameworks, such as the UN Charter, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the International Criminal
Court (ICC
• Regional cybersecurity initiatives can provide states with an opportunity to collaborate and share information on emerging cyber threats, which can help identify
potential risks, mitigate challenges, and enhance cybersecurity in the region. A notable example of such an initiative is the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which
brings together 27 members to engage in preventive diplomacy and build trust and confidence regarding cybersecurity challenges.
• states can establish bilateral and multilateral cyber cooperation agreements to govern states' relations on cyber issues. These agreements can cover issues such as
cyber espionage, cyber warfare, and theft of intellectual propertythe European Union is currently working to define adequate norms to ensure the EU’s cyber
resilience. Through the establishment of bilateral and multilateral agreements, states can reduce the risk of misunderstanding and create a stable and predictable
environment for cyber activities, thereby decreasing the likelihood of conflict while adhering to international law.