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As cyber-warfare rapidly evolves from a theoretical possibility into an imminent threat, scholars have rightly focused on how international law should apply to this new security concern. Of particular debate is how to define which cyber-acts would constitute an "armed attack" implicating a state’s right to forcible self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. The leading proposal for answering this question is an effects-based inquiry that asks whether the impacts of a cyber-attack resemble those caused by military force. But this approach is as notable for what it leaves out of the "armed attacks" category as what it brings into it. Under an effects-based analysis, a broad range of damaging and disruptive cyber-actions would remain outside the scope of "armed attacks" under international law. Jus ad bellum only gets you so far on the cyber frontier.
New Directions in Responsibility: Assessing the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations
Written by Kristen E. Boon
The International Law Commission’s (ILC) Draft Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations (Draft Articles) are a critical new development in the law regulating international organizations (IOs). If adopted, these Articles will create a legal framework—although not a forum—to sue IOs that commit internationally wrongful acts. The Draft Articles create a law of "consequences": they lay out rules of attribution, excuses precluding wrongfulness, effects of a breach, and principles of reparations. The 2011 military intervention in Libya highlights the practical application of these principles.
Material Support of Peace? The On-the-Ground Consequences of U.S. and International Material Support of Terrorism Laws and the Need for Greater Legal Precision
Written by Noah Bialostozky
On March 17, 2011, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1973, which imposed "a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians." Excluded from the scope of the ban are humanitarian flights, those evacuating foreign nationals from the country, and any other flights authorized by states enforcing the no-fly zone. Going beyond simply banning aerial activity, the Security Council further authorized "Member States that have notified the Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance." The reference to "all necessary means" is the standard phrase the Security Council uses to authorize states to act militarily. Pursuant to the Resolution, states can operate alone, in an ad hoc coalition, through a regional organization such as NATO, or a combination thereof.
Supervised Independence and Post-Conflict Sovereignty: The Dynamics of Hybridity in Kosovo's New Constitutional Court
Written by Steven Hill & Paul Linden-Retek
In the years since the end of the Cold War, international and domestic actors have increasingly utilized internationalized or hybrid courts as mechanisms to administer justice in post-conflict contexts. As judicial bodies that include both domestic and international or foreign judges, hybrid courts have been seen as sensible and practical ways to strengthen local institutions and to develop the rule of law at the local level.
Global Administrative Law and the Legitimacy of Sanctions Regimes in International Law
Written by Pascale Helene Dubois & Aileen Elizabeth Nowlan
Last year the World Bank distributed $58.8 billion in loans and grants around the world. The World Bank's Articles of Agreement require it to ensure that its funds are used for their intended purposes, since fraud and corruption bleed away resources from poverty reduction efforts. By a conservative estimate, over $1 trillion in bribes are paid around the world each year.
It is often tempting to read statutes the way one thinks they ought to have been written. This impulse, though understandable, can create more problems than it solves. Such is the case with applying the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) to suits against current and former foreign officials, as Curt Bradley and Jack Goldsmith have recently proposed.
The Yale Journal of International Law (YJIL) is pleased to announce the launch of YJIL ONLINE. YJIL ONLINE is a companion to the Journal’s print edition, featuring short analytical Essays relevant to the furtherance of both scholarship and practice.
Practicing International Law in the Obama Administration
Written by Harold Hongju Koh & Aaron Zelinsky
Over the past half-century, the Office of the Legal Adviser in the U.S. Department of State has grown significantly in size and scope. During that time, a handful of articles have described the work of the Legal Adviser. This Essay builds upon those accounts by describing the role of the Legal Adviser in the still-young Obama Administration.
The sharp spike in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of East Africa over the last three years has renewed international interest in the suppression of maritime piracy. While international efforts to curb piracy in the region have met with some success, a permanent solution requires that local governments take primary responsibility for its suppression.
