International law
The Czech Republic commends the work of the UN GGE regarding the application of
international law to the use of ICT´s and welcomes both multilateral, including those in the
OEWG, as well as national efforts towards that end.
The Czech Republic is opposed to negotiating a new legal instrument for two principal
reasons.
First, as stated by the GGE and many of my colleagues here, existing international law
applies to cyberspace in its entirety. Indeed, existing international law provides us with all the
necessary tools to prevent actual conflicts in cyber domain. The issue at stake is not a gap in
existing law, but compliance with existing law and reaching a common understanding on how
to apply the law to today’s environment.
Second, the Czech Republic opposes negotiating a new legal instrument, because the
developments in ICTs are so rapid and dynamic as to render any potential result of such effort
obsolete, perhaps even before we all ratify the outcome. Instead, the Czech Republic prefers
an achieving a robust consensus on a dynamic application of international law which will be
able to adapt to new developments.
For obvious historical reasons, none of the existing international law instruments explicitly
refer to cyber issues. However, this does not mean these instruments somehow cannot be
applied to cyberspace. On the contrary, in its advisory opinion of 1971 the International Court
of Justice found that an international instrument has to be interpreted and applied within the
framework of the entire legal system prevailing at the time of the interpretation. This concept
of dynamic, or evolutionary interpretation is also implied in Article 31(3)b of the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties.
With that perspective, the Czech Republic would like to highlight its views regarding the
applicability of international law in three priority areas: sovereignty, human rights, and
international humanitarian law.
National Sovereignty over ICTs
First, the Czech Republic recalls that the principles of sovereignty and sovereign equality of
States are cornerstones of the UN Charter and thus concurs with the conclusion contained in
the report of the UN GGE that in their use of ICT´s States are obliged to observe principles of
international law, including the principle of sovereignty. The Czech Republic concurs with