The Colombian War College hosted 35 cyber policy makers and lawyers from Central and South America.

Cyber Law in the Americas

The influence of the "Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law of Cyber Operations" continues to spread globally. The Manual, drafted by an international team of legal experts over a 7-year period, sets forth the law applicable to cyber activities during both peace and war. Professor Michael Schmitt of Exeter Law School directed the project and now leads a team of experts in a Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs-sponsored cyber law capacity-building programme for government officials around the world. The programme traveled to Colombia the week of 7 May where the Colombian War College hosted 35 cyber policy makers and lawyers from Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Canada, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Next stop for the team this month is Tallinn, Estonia, where the programme will be offered for NATO and Partnership for Peace countries. In July, it moves to Singapore, which will host it for officials from nations that are members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

In unrelated news, Professor Schmitt hosted a high-level experts workshop on "The Fog of Law" at the United States Naval War College. The workshop explored the ambiguity present in topics ranging from the law of cyber operations to human rights law during armed conflict. It included participants from the US, UK and Canadian military; senior academics; the International Committee of the Red Cross; and representatives of the State Department and UK Ministry of Defence.

Date: 17 May 2018