Course code

AKJ7185.YK

old course code

Course title in Estonian

Jõu kasutamine, humanitaarõigus ja küberrünnakute regulatsioon

Course title in English

Use of Force, Humanitarian Law and Cyber Warfare

ECTS credits

6.0

Assessment form

Examination

lecturer of 2023/2024 Spring semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

lecturer of 2024/2025 Autumn semester

Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.

Course aims

- to provide knowledge about the right of states to use force individually and collectively;
- to create opportunities for acquiring knowledge about the legitimacy of the use of force in self-defense;
- to provide knowledge about international humanitarian law and the the law of armed conflict and the sources of the relevant norms;
- to provide a thorough overview of the substance of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 (I and II) and 2005 (III) additional protocols;
- to foster an understanding of the legal regulation of cyber attacks and the main problems connected to them.

Brief description of the course

The course will address the right of states to use force individually or collectively. The United Nations Charter provisions regarding the use of force and a state’s right to self-defense will be looked at. The course deal with the concept and aims of international humanitarian law. The following international agreements will be engaged with:
the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949 (Convention I); the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of August 12, 1949 (Convention II); the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949 (Convention III); the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949 (Convention IV). Potential differences in relation to cyber warfare will be analysed.

Learning outcomes in the course

Upon completing the course the student:
- has knowledge about when a state is justified in using force considering the requirements of international legal norms;
- has detailed knowledge about which legal norms are in effect during periods of armed conflict;
- knows what substantive protection is provided to the different parties involved in conflict by the Geneva conventions;
- is able to asses, when a state is justified in using force considering the requirements of international legal norms;
- knows how cyber warfare is regulated.

Teacher

Rain Liivoja

Study programmes containing that course

Human Rights in the Digital Society (AKIDM/24.YK)
Human Rights in the Digital Society (AKIDM/23.YK)
Human Rights in the Digital Society (AKIDM/22.YK)
Human Rights in the Digital Society (AKIDM/21.YK)
Human Rights in the Digital Society (AKIDM/20.YK)
Human Rights in the Digital Society (AKIDM/19.YK)
Human Rights in the Digital Society (AKIDM/18.YK)