Cyber Space Regulation and the International Humanitarian Law

Abstract

Over the period of two decades, the threat landscape of state, global and human security has substantially modified, becoming ever-more dangerous. In this context, the cyber revolution has played a marked role in altering the threat landscape. However, the world is yet unprepared to deal with the consequences of the most dreadful outcome of a cyber-attack-a nuclear war while the domain of cyber space remains largely unregulated. This research will attempt to investigate the differing positions of states hindering the achievement of a global consensus for the regulation of cyberspace and argue whether International Humanitarian Law is applicable to cyber-attacks and if its applicability is sufficient to address the threat of cyber-attacks. The impact of the research includes being able to come up with certain recommendations.