TY - JOUR
T1 - Attacking Data
T2 - Moving beyond the Interpretative Quagmire of the ‘Data as an Object’ Debate
AU - Schack, Marc
AU - Lund-Hansen, Katrine
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - A key contemporary challenge for international lawyers is to determine how international humanitarian law (ihl) applies to cyber operations. This involves determining how ihl language – devised for the physical world – can be translated into usable concepts for the digital age. Often, this is done largely by balancing the ‘ordinary meaning’ of specific ihl concepts against the ‘object and purpose’ of ihl treaties. This, at least, has been the case in the debate on whether the concept of ‘objects’ include or exclude (digital) data. Contributors to this debate often emphasise this balancing act, but also seem guided by what they consider acceptable outcomes. Specifically, they argue that what is legal in the analogue, physical world should not be rendered illegal through digitisation and vice versa. This article argues that this approach is unhelpful as it leads to conflicting results. Instead, we argue that the addition of a contextual analysis could help move the debate forward.
AB - A key contemporary challenge for international lawyers is to determine how international humanitarian law (ihl) applies to cyber operations. This involves determining how ihl language – devised for the physical world – can be translated into usable concepts for the digital age. Often, this is done largely by balancing the ‘ordinary meaning’ of specific ihl concepts against the ‘object and purpose’ of ihl treaties. This, at least, has been the case in the debate on whether the concept of ‘objects’ include or exclude (digital) data. Contributors to this debate often emphasise this balancing act, but also seem guided by what they consider acceptable outcomes. Specifically, they argue that what is legal in the analogue, physical world should not be rendered illegal through digitisation and vice versa. This article argues that this approach is unhelpful as it leads to conflicting results. Instead, we argue that the addition of a contextual analysis could help move the debate forward.
U2 - 10.1163/15718107-92030004
DO - 10.1163/15718107-92030004
M3 - Journal article
VL - 92
SP - 349
EP - 370
JO - Nordic Journal of International Law
JF - Nordic Journal of International Law
SN - 0902-7351
IS - 3
ER -