lighting, Diplomacy

Lunch dialogue: Digitalisation and international law

16 April 2018 -

Geneva, Switzerland

The Geneva Internet Platform will host a lunch dialogue on Digitalisation and international law, on Monday, 16th April, between 12:30 and 14:30, at the WMO Building, 7bis, Avenue de la Paix, Geneva. The dialogue will revolve around how digitalisation is shaping public international law and how international law and lawyers may respond to current challenges in this field.

International law applies to the digital space. This was one of the conclusions reached by the UN Group of Governmental Experts in 2013, which then turned to address how it applies to the Internet and the use of ICTs. 

A lunch dialogue on Digitalisation and international law, hosted by the Geneva Internet Platform on Monday, 16th April 2018, will convene international legal advisors, academics, and other practitioners involved in the field of public international law and digitalisation, in order to discuss how digitalisation is shaping public international law and how international law and lawyers may respond to current challenges in this field. 

The lunch dialogue will address the following areas:

  • Are there emerging practices in state behaviour on how existing international law applies to cyberspace? 
  • Are there areas – such as Artificial Intelligence and autonomous weapons – that may need new rules? What are the prospects of new international treaties? 
  • What is the relation between norms, legal rules, and custom in areas such as cybersecurity? 
  • How will diplomatic law (privileges and immunities) be impacted by digital developments? 
  • How could states collaborate with private actors? 

The dialogue will be moderated by Prof. Jovan Kurbalija, Head of the Geneva Internet Platform, and Mr Roland Portmann, Head of the Public International Law Section, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. 

The dialogue will be informal and in accordance with the Chatham House Rule. It will start with a networking lunch at 12.30, followed by a discussion at 13.00 – 14.30. 

For queries, kindly contact Dr Stephanie Borg Psaila at stephaniep@diplomacy.edu.