In recent years, States have begun to discuss and assess whether and when they may cooperate in the taking of countermeasures. The question has arisen most prominently in debates about the application of international law to cyber operations in light of the fact that cyber-capabilities vary significantly among States, making some more vulnerable to malicious cyber-operations, as well as less capable of responding to them. The idea has been championed by Estonia, perhaps understandably given its own experience as the victim of a severe cyber-attack. It has been supported by other States too. For instance, Canada’s recent statement on the application of international law to cyberspace proposes that ‘assistance can be provided on request of an injured State, for example where the injured State does not possess all the technical or legal expertise to respond to internationally wrongful cyber acts’. Collaboration among States on cyber security is common (see e.g. here and here), and its forms vary. In May of this year, Jeff Kosseff discussed an example of some…
Countermeasures
Proxy Countermeasures in International Law
Introduction In the last few years, the term ‘collective countermeasures’ has at times been used to refer to two conceptually distinct claims. It has continued to be used to refer to the idea that a State other than an injured State, in the sense of Article 48 of the ILC Articles on State Responsibility, may take…
Third-Party “Provisional Countermeasures”: A Proposal to Give Teeth to Provisional Measures
Compliance with the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures orders has been low and appears to be decreasing, as underscored by the recent cases of Israel and Syria. So, attention is again turning to whether the measures can be enforced. Most commentary has focused…
Past Time to Liquidate Russian Assets
This piece is cross-posted on Just Security. Two long years ago, Russia launched its brutal campaign of aggression and atrocity against Ukraine. That full-scale invasion has now killed more than 30,000 Ukrainians, displaced more than 10 million, and destroyed more than $400 billion of civilian property…