Research On The Legal Issues Of The Exercise Of Self-defense Right In Cyberspace

The right of self-defense,as a sovereign right of a country,is longstanding and often referred as the "natural rights" of a country in customary international law.Like physical space,cyberspace can also be the venue and target of war.The exercise of the right of self-defense in cyberspace has aroused widespread concern in the international community and has become an important topic for international law scholars.The purpose of this paper is to study the exercise of self-defense rights in cyberspace in accordance with the UN Charter,international treaties,views of scholars from various countries and the latest practice.The paper is divided into four parts.The first part includes discussion of the preconditions for the exercise of cyberspace self-defense right,analysis of the connection and difference between "use of force" and "force attack" under cyberspace,as well as analysis of the situation that cyberattack may constitute "force attack".The second part analyzes the objects of cyberspace self-defense rights.The third part analyzes the time of performance of cyberspace self-defense rights,combining the characteristics of cyber-attacks.The fourth part explores the application of the Caroline principle in cyberspace,including the principle of proportionality and the principle of necessity.About the determination of cyber-attacks,this paper believes that it is necessary to pay attention to the target of the network attack,and the consequences should be consistent with the "severe severity" standard.As far as the object of self-defense is exercised,this paper proposes that we should start with the determination of the source of cyber-attack and adopt the attribution method in international law to exercise the right of self-defence in cyberspace to the responsible countries.Finally,the exercise of rights requires boundaries and must be consistent with the principles of proportionality and necessity.