Acceso usuarios
State responsability is one of the mechanisms for legal redress in international affairs. Yet, the formulation of state responsability in the digital realm is still in a very early stage. This article addresses both a lex lata analysis based on existing law of state responsibility, and lex ferenda solutions that may be developed in order to address specifities of the Internet, such a state responsibility for the digital activities of non-state actors under their jurisdiction. The practical applicability of the laws describing state responsibility is analysed for the case study of an imaginary cyberattack by country A (DigiLand) on the electrical grid system of country B (CyberStan), which caused a blackout and major damage in CyberStan). The search for a possible solution in the digital field involves the potential application of law and the practice of state responsibility developed previously in environmental law and other specialised fields of international law. In addition, the analysis addresses an interplay between states' predominantly restrictive approach to the use of state responsibility, and the practical need to provide legal solutions for cases in the digital field.
