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denmark’s position paper
Denmark’s Position Paper on the Application of
International Law in Cyberspace
1
Introduction
The UN General Assembly has endorsed the conclusions set out in the reports
from the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) and the Open-ended Working
Group on Information and Communication Technologies (OEWG) affirming that international law, including the UN Charter, applies in cyberspace.
Denmark is an unwavering supporter of this view and continues to support
efforts to develop the rules, norms and principles of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace. As a strong proponent of the rules based international
order Denmark is fully committed to international law as the fundamental
framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. With a view to contributing to clarifying that framework this paper sets out Denmark’s official
position on selected issues of international law in relation to cyberspace. The
aim of the paper is to strengthen the interpretation of international law in relation to cyberspace and to clarify the basis upon which Denmark will respond
to unlawful acts from other States and non-State actors in cyberspace.
It is the view of Denmark that the application of international law does not
depend on the particular technological means employed. Treaty obligations,
customary law, and general principles of law apply across domains, which
includes operations conducted in cyberspace.
However, unanswered questions remain regarding the precise interpretation of international law with respect to cyberspace operations. This lack of
clarity stems from general issues of interpretation of international law, from
limited State practice in cyberspace, and from the unique characteristics of
cyberspace. Consequently, the understanding of how international law applies
to cyberspace is, and will continue to be, a complex and evolving process.
The focus of this paper is on cyberspace in the broad context of international peace and security and general issues of international law such as state
sovereignty, use of force, countermeasures and international humanitarian
law (IHL). Denmark subscribes to the general view that also human rights
obligations apply in cyberspace, but for the sake of brevity this paper does not
elaborate further on that topic. In addition, the paper does not deal with sector specific issues such as law enforcement cooperation, intelligence gathering
and telecommunications law, nor does it address the many treaty obligations
that Denmark is subject to, and which would necessarily be part of a legal analysis of any particular cyber operation.
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Nordic Journal of International
Law 92 (2023) 446–455