On 21 January 2022, EU Cyber Direct organised its first Research Seminar, which is part of a series of interactive discussions on specific topics. During this first seminar, sixteen participants were invited to reflect on the way forward to the discussions on international law taking place within the United Nations General Assembly First Committee, notably as part of the work of the UNGGE and the OEWG.
After an introduction by Dennis Broeders and François Delerue, the event continued with two sessions.
The first session, chaired by Aude Géry, was dedicated to the relationship with other legal regimes. It addressed the relationship between the discussions on international law applicable to cyber operations taking place at the UN and other legal regimes, notably on their potential complementarity, cross-fertilisation, and overlaps. To start the discussion, three speakers were invited to provide input presentations: Matthias C. Kettemann on internet governance, Giovanna Adinolfi on international economic law, and Barrie Sander on human rights.
The second session, chaired by François Delerue, focused on the rules and principles of international law in the work of UN processes and aimed to use the UNGGE and OEWG reports as a starting point. Participants also reflected on what may be the next step(s) for these discussions on the interpretation of certain rules and principles of international law. Three speakers provided input presentations: Vera Rusinova on sovereignty, Duncan B. Hollis on the principle of non-intervention, and Talita Dias on due diligence.
A publication based on this discussion will be released in March.
