Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare

Prepared at the Invitation of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre, for the first time, 20 world experts set out the international law on cyber warfare.

Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare

General Editor: Michael N. Schmitt

Paperback / ISBN: 978-1-107-61377-5 / 282pp / £35.00

Published: March 15th, 2013

The product of a three-year project by twenty renowned international law experts, the Tallinn Manual identifies the international law applicable to cyber warfare and sets out ninety-five 'black-letter rules' governing such conflicts. It explores key issues including sovereignty, State responsibility, the jus ad bellum, international humanitarian law, and the law of neutrality. An extensive commentary accompanies each rule, which sets forth the rule's basis in treaty and customary law, explains how the group of experts interpreted applicable norms in the cyber context, and outlines any disagreements within the group as to each rule's application. Some of the major questions addressed include:

1) When is a cyber operation conducted by one state against another a violation of the international law prohibition on the use of force?

2) When may a state that is the target of a cyber operation respond forcefully using cyber or conventional means to defend itself?

3) When is a state responsible for cyber operations conducted by non-state groups such as "cyber terrorists" or "hacktivists"?

4) What legal rules govern the use of cyber weapons on the battlefield during an armed conflict?

5) What legal obligations do other states have when a state is subjected to cyber attacks during peace time or armed conflicts?

About the editor

Professor MICHAEL N. SCHMITT is Chairman of the international law department at the United States Naval War College. He is also Honorary Professor of International Humanitarian Law at Durham University and Dean of the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies in Germany. Before joining the Marshall Centre, Professor Schmitt served 20 years in the United States Air Force as a judge advocate specializing in operational and international law.

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