The Oxford Statement on International Law Protections Against Foreign Electoral Interference Through Digital Means

We, the undersigned public international lawyers, have watched with growing concern reports of cyber incidents targeting electoral processes around the world, including allegations of foreign state and state-sponsored interference. We also note that the COVID-19 pandemic raises additional challenges to ensuring the integrity of such processes.

Whereas:

Two prior Oxford Statements have described the rules and principles of international law governing cyber operations that threaten two areas of pressing global importance, namely the safeguarding of the health care sector and global vaccine research;

International law protects electoral processes, and efforts to interfere, including by digital means, with a state’s choice of its political leaders or other matters on which it has free choice contravene basic principles of the international order;

The Charter of the United Nations (UN) establishes sovereign equality and each state’s political independence as bedrock elements of the international system; the UN General Assembly has affirmed that no state “has the right to intervene directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other state”; and the International Court of Justice has held that every sovereign State has the right “to conduct its affairs without outside interference”;

Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights declares that “[e]very citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without … unreasonable restrictions [t]o take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; [t]o vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors”; electoral interference can infringe human rights protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights;

Other international instruments, such as the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace (2018), have called on all stakeholders to “[s]trengthen their capacity to prevent malign interference by foreign actors aimed at undermining electoral processes through malicious cyber activities”;

All efforts by states and others to prevent such malign interferences should be consistent with international law;

The International Law Commission’s 2001 Articles on State Responsibility establishes that a state is responsible for the conduct of its organs or officials, as well as for conduct carried out by persons or groups acting on the instructions of, or under the direction or control of, the state;

In line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, online intermediaries and digital media companies should “conduct due diligence to ensure that their products, policies and practices … do not interfere with human rights”, as recognised in the April 2020 Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Elections in the Digital Age, adopted by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, and OAS Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression.

As states and other stakeholders learn more about the ways in which foreign cyber actions can adversely affect domestic electoral processes and how best to address such harms, international law can be further clarified and strengthened by state practice that becomes accepted as customary international law.

We affirm that all states are bound to act in accordance with the rules and principles identified below. 

Applicability

1. International law applies to cyber operations by states, including those that have adverse consequences for the electoral processes of other states.

   a. “Electoral processes” refer but are not limited to processes for selecting or electing individuals for public office, referenda, and plebiscites. These include:

   i. Balloting: registering, casting, tabulating, or assuring the integrity of a ballot including voter registries, ballot security and integrity protocols, voting machines, and paper ballots;

   ii. Verifying: systems used for reporting, recording, verifying and auditing votes and results of an election;

   iii. Informing: public or private systems that provide an electorate with procedural information about how to participate in an electoral process, as well as substantive information, of whatever origin, related to an electoral process, including information on individuals or groups participating in electoral processes, such as candidates for elective office, political parties, or organizations.

b. Adverse consequences, in the electoral context, include actions, processes or events that intervene in the conduct of an electoral process or undermine public confidence in the official results or the process itself. These actions include but are not limited to intrusions into digital systems or networks that cast doubt on the integrity of election data, such as votes and voter registers, as well as cyber operations against individuals and entities involved in the election.

Duty to Refrain

2. A state must refrain from conducting, authorising or endorsing cyber operations that have adverse consequences for electoral processes in other states. States must refrain from, inter alia,

   a. Interfering, by digital or other means, with electoral processes with respect to balloting or verifying the results of an election;

   b. Conducting cyber operations that adversely impact the electorate’s ability to participate in electoral processes, to obtain public, accurate and timely information thereon, or that undermine public confidence in the integrity of electoral processes.

   c. Conducting operations that violate the right to privacy, freedom of expression, thought, association, and participation in electoral processes.

Duty Not to Render Assistance

3. A state must not render assistance to cyber operations that it knows will likely have adverse consequences for electoral processes in other states

Due Diligence

4. a.  When a state is or should be aware of a cyber operation that emanates from its territory or infrastructure under its jurisdiction or control, and which may have adverse consequences for electoral processes abroad, that state must take all feasible measures to prevent, stop and mitigate any harms threatened or generated by the operation.

   b. To discharge this obligation, states may, to the extent feasible, be required to, inter alia, investigate, prosecute or sanction those responsible, take measures to prevent or thwart operations spreading misleading or inaccurate information, and/or assist and cooperate with other states in preventing, ending, or mitigating the adverse consequences of foreign cyber operations affecting electoral processes.

   c. The measures taken to discharge a state’s obligations should be carried out in full compliance with other rules of international law.

Obligation to Protect Against Foreign Electoral Interference

5. States have an obligation to protect and ensure the integrity of their own electoral processes against interference by other states. To discharge this obligation, states may be required to put in place electoral security measures, such as legislation and backup systems, as well as to secure the availability of public, timely and accurate information on electoral processes. Any restrictive measures taken by states that interfere with human rights must be in accordance with applicable legal requirements, such as legitimate purpose, legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination. 

5. These rules and principles are without prejudice to other applicable international rules and ongoing processes. 

List of Signatories

The current list of signatories and their affiliations (for identification purposes only) is below. International lawyers who wish to append their name to the statement should send an email to [email protected]:

1. Dapo Akande, Professor of Public International Law, Co-Director, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law & Armed Conflict (ELAC), University of Oxford

2. Mariana Salazar Albornoz, Member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee, Professor of International Law, Universidad Iberoamericana

3. Kai Ambos, Professor and Chair of Criminal Law, Procedure, Comparative Law, International Criminal Law and Public International Law, Georg August Universität Göttingen, Germany

4. Joshua Andresen, Deputy Head of School and Senior Lecturer in National Security and Foreign Relations Law, School of Law, University of Surrey

5. Mahnoush H. Arsanjani, Former Director, Codification Division, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations

6. Oscar Avila, Legal Counsel and President of the ISOC Cybersecurity SIG

7. Romel Regalado Bagares, Professorial Lecturer in International Law, Lyceum of the Philippines University College of Law

8. Karine Bannelier, Associate Professor of International Law, Deputy Director of the Cyber Security Institute, University Grenoble Alpes

9. Steven J. Barela, Senior Research Fellow, Global Studies Institute and Member of the Law Faculty at the University of Geneva

10. Richard Barnes, Professor of International Law, School of Law, University of Lincoln

11. Pnina Sharvit Baruch, Senior Research Fellow and Head of Program on Law and National Security, Israel Institute for National Security Studies

12. Gary Bass, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University

13. Eyal Benvenisti, Whewell Professor of International Law, University of Cambridge, C C Ng Fellow, Jesus College, Director of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law

14. Susan H. Bitensky, Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law

15. Ziv Bohrer, Senior Lecturer in International Law, Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University

16. Christopher J. Borgen, Professor of Law and Co-Director, Center for International and Comparative Law, St. John’s University School of Law

17. Michael Bothe, Professor emeritus of Public law, Law School, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main

18. Tess Bridgeman, former Special Assistant to the President, Associate White House Counsel, and Deputy Legal Adviser to the National Security Council; Co-Editor-in-Chief, Just Security

19. Chester Brown, Professor of International Law and International Arbitration, The University of Sydney Law School

20. Russell Buchan, Senior Lecturer in International Law, University of Sheffield

21. Emiliano Buis, Professor of International Law, University of Buenos Aires

22. Michael Byers, Professor & Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law, University of British Columbia

23. Nicolás Carrillo-Santarelli, Associate Researcher of the Institute of Human Rights and Business, UDEM University

24. Benarji Chakka, Professor of International Law, VIT-AP University School of Law (VSL), VIT-AP University, India

25. Théodore Christakis, Professor of International and European Law, Chair Legal and Regulatory Implications of Artificial Intelligence, University Grenoble Alpes

26. Roger S. Clark, Board of Governors Professor, Rutgers Law School

27. Antonio Coco, Lecturer in Public International Law, University of Essex and Visiting Fellow at ELAC, University of Oxford

28. Camilla Guldahl Cooper, Associate professor at the Norwegian Defence University College, Oslo

29. Geoffrey S. Corn, Gary A. Kuiper Distinguished Professor of National Security Law, South Texas College of Law Houston

30. Emily Crawford, Associate Professor, Sydney Law School, The University of Sydney

31. Robert Cryer, Professor of International and Criminal Law, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom and Extraordinary Professor of Law, University of the Free State, South Africa

32. Federica D’Alessandra, Executive Director, Oxford Program on International Peace and Security, ELAC

33. Tom Dannenbaum, Assistant Professor of International Law, The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts

34. Margaret M. deGuzman, James E. Beasley Professor of Law and Co-director of the Institute for International Law and Public Policy at Temple University Beasley School of Law

35. François Delerue, Research Fellow in Cyberdefense and International Law at the Institut de Recherche stratégique de l’École militaire (IRSEM) and Adjunct Lecturer at Sciences Po, Paris, France

36. Talita de Souza Dias, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, ELAC, University of Oxford

37. Jessica Dorsey, Assistant Professor of International and European Law, Utrecht University School of Law

38. Pavan Duggal, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Founder-cum-Chancellor, Cyberlaw University

39. Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, Assistant Professor, Universidad del Pacífico, Peru

40. Jeffrey Dunoff, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Law, Temple University School of Law

41. Max du Plessis SC, Adjunct Professor, Nelson Mandela University and Senior Researcher, Institute for Security Studies

42. Pierre-Marie Dupuy, Professor of Public International Law, Emeritus – Paris University (Panthéon-Assas), Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies -Geneva

43. Kristen E. Eichensehr, Martha Lubin Karsh and Bruce A. Karsh Bicentennial Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law

44. Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada, Emeritus professor of International Law, Universidad de Murcia, Spain

45. Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, Associate Professor of Public International Law and Director of the Legal Clinic, University of Murcia, Spain

46. Tom Farer, University Professor and Dean Emeritus (1996-2010), Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

47. Benjamin B. Ferencz, former Nuremberg war crimes Prosecutor

48. David P. Fidler, Adjunction Senior Fellow for Cybersecurity and Global Health, Council on Foreign Relations

49. Dieter Fleck, Honorary President, International Society for Military Law and the Law of War

50. Micaela Frulli, Professor, Law Department, University of Florence

51. Alexandre Skander Galand, Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Fundamental Rights, Hertie School, Berlin’s University of Governance

52. Hans-Peter Gasser, former senior legal advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva

53. Robin Geiss, Professor and Chair of International Law and Security, University of Glasgow; Director, Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security (GCILS)

54. Geoff Gilbert, Professor of International Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, School of Law and Human Rights Centre, University of Essex

55. Chiara Giorgetti, Professor of Law, Richmond Law School

56. Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, Professor of Law, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW; Emeritus Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford

57. Gregory S. Gordon, Professor of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

58. Charalee Graydon, Professor of Mediation and Conflict Resolution, EUCLID University, Member of Climate Change Policy Project, Mediators Beyond Borders International, Climate Change Policy Project

59. James A. Green, Professor of Public International Law, School of Law University of Reading

60. Oren Gross, Irving Younger Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School

61. Nienke Grossman, Professor of Law; Co-Director, Center for International and Comparative Law, University of Baltimore School of Law

62. Patrycja Grzebyk, Professor of Law, University of Warsaw

63. Douglas Guilfoyle, Associate Professor of International and Security Law, University of New South Wales Canberra

64. Oleg Gushchyn, Professor, Military Law Department, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine

65. Steven Haines, Professor of Public International Law, University of Greenwich

66. Monica Hakimi, James V. Campbell Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

67. Françoise J. Hampson, Professor Emeritus, Law School & Human Rights Centre, University of Essex

68. Adil Haque, Professor of Law and Judge Jon O. Newman Scholar, Rutgers Law School

69. Jakub Harasta, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Masaryk University, Czech Republic

70. Kevin Jon Heller, Professor of International Law and Security, University of Copenhagen (Centre for Military Studies); Professor of Law, Australian National University

71. Christian Henderson, Professor of International Law, University of Sussex

72. Stacey Henderson, Lecturer of Law, Adelaide Law School, The University of Adelaide

73. John Quentin Heywood, Associate Professor, American University Washington College of Law

74. Tamás Hoffmann, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Social Sciences Institute for Legal Studies; Associate Professor, Corvinus University of Budapest

75. Duncan B. Hollis, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Law, Temple University School of Law

76. María-José Cervell Hortal, tenured professor of Public International Law, Universidad de Murcia, Spain

77. Kristine Huskey, Clinical Professor of Law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law

78. Alfonso J. Iglesias Velasco, Professor of International Law, Autonomous University of Madrid

79. Mark Janis, formerly Fellow of Exeter College & Reader in Law, University of Oxford

80. Eric Talbot Jensen, Robert W. Barker Professor of Law, Brigham Young University

81. Derek Jinks, A.W. Walker Centennial Chair in Law, University of Texas School of Law

82. Kate Jones, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford

83. Kadri Kaska, Head of Law Branch, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence

84. David Kaye, Professor of Law, UC Irvine School of Law, UN Special Rapporteur (2014-2020)

85. Shayan Ahmed Khan, Senior Research Associate, Research Society of International Law

86. Ido Kilovaty, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Tulsa College of Law

87. Jan Klabbers, Professor of International Law, University of Helsinki

88. Pierre Klein, Professor, Centre of International Law, Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

89. Bernhard Koch, Deputy Director Institute of Theology and Peace Hamburg; Co-Teacher Ethics at the ICMM Centre of Reference for Education on IHL and Ethics Zurich

90. Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor of International Law, Yale Law School,  Legal Adviser (2009-13) and Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (1998-2001), US Department of State

91. Robert Kolb, Professor in Public International Law, University of Geneva

92. David Kretzmer, Emeritus Professor of international Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

93. Leonhard Kreuzer, Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, Germany

94. Masahiro Kurosaki, Associate Professor of International Law and Director of the Study of Law, Security and Military Operations, National Defense Academy of Japan

95. Patryk I. Labuda, Postdoctoral Fellow, Amsterdam Center for International Law

96. Henning Lahmann, Senior Researcher, Digital Society Institute, ESMT Berlin

97. Kobi Leins, Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics, Centre for AI and Digital Ethics; Non-Resident Fellow, United Nations Institute for Disarmament

98. Gabriel M. Lentner, Assistant Professor of International Law and Arbitration, Danube University Krems, Austria

99. Rain Liivoja, Associate Professor of Law, University of Queensland

100. Marco Longobardo, Lecturer in International Law, University of Westminster

101. Juan Jorge Piernas López, Tenured Professor of Public International Law, University of Murcia, Spain

102. Asaf Lubin, Associate Professor of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of Law; Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University

103. Fabrizio Marrella, Full Professor of International Law and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International Relations, “Ca’ Foscari” University of Venice, Italy; Professeur invité at the Sorbonne Law School, University Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne

104. Maurice Mendelson QC, Blackstone Chambers Barristers; Emeritus Professor of International Law in the University of London

105. Errol P. Mendes, Professor, University of Ottawa; President, International Commission of Jurists, Canadian Section

106. Tomohiro Mikanagi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan

107. Marko Milanovic, Professor of Public International Law, University of Nottingham School of Law

108. Alex Mills, Professor of Public and Private International Law, Faculty of Laws, UCL

109. Tal Mimran, Lecturer of Public International Law and Research Fellow, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

110. Evgeni Moyakine, Assistant Professor of IT law, University of Groningen

111. Harriet Moynihan, Senior Research Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatham House (Royal Institute of International Affairs)

112. Sean D. Murphy, Manatt/Ahn Professor of International Law, George Washington University Law School  

113. Roda Mushkat, Professor of International Law, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University

114. Valère Ndior, Professor of International Law, Bretagne occidentale University, France

115. Michael A. Newton, Professor of the Practice of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School

116. James C. O’Brien, Vice Chair, Albright Stonebridge Group

117. Stefan Oeter, Professor of, Public International Law, University of Hamburg

118. Jens David Ohlin, Vice Dean and Professor of Law, Cornell Law School

119. Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Professor and York Research Chair in International and Transnational Legal Studies, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada

120. Roger O’Keefe, Professor of International Law, Bocconi University and Honorary Professor of Law, University College London

121. Sejal Parmar, School of Law, University of Sheffield

122. Andreas Paulus, Professor, University of Goettingen, Germany

123. Jordan J. Paust, Professor Emeritus, University of Houston Law Center

124. Mónica Pinto, Professor Emerita, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Derecho, Argentina

125. Erin Pobjie, Senior Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, Germany

126. Anni Pues, Lecturer in International Law, Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security, University of Glasgow

127. Steven R. Ratner, Bruno Simma Collegiate Professor of Law, Director, University of Michigan Donia Human Rights Center, University of Michigan Law School

128. Michael Reisman, Professor Yale Law School

129. Henry J. Richardson III, Professor of Law, Temple University School of Law

130. José Antonio Moreno Rodríguez, Member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee

131. Przemysław Roguski, Lecturer in Law, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland

132. Marco Roscini, Professor of International Law, Westminster Law School, University of Westminster

133. Eric P. Rudge, Judge First and Third Cantonal Court of Suriname, Acting Member of the High Court of Justice in Suriname, Member of the Inter-American Juridical Committee of the O.A.S.

134. Helene Ruiz Fabri, Professor of international law, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural law and Sorbonne Law School

135. Leila Nadya Sadat, President, International Law Association (American Branch); Special Adviser on Crimes Against Humanity, International Criminal Court Prosecutor; James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law, Director, Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, Washington University School of Law

136. Barrie Sander, Assistant Professor of International Justice, Leiden University – Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

137. Andrew Sanger, University Lecturer in International Law, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Corpus Christi College and of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law

138. Arman Sarvarian, Senior Lecturer in Public International Law, University of Surrey

139. Marco Sassòli, Professor of International Law, University of Geneva, Switzerland

140. Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law, Sydney Law School

141. Sergey Sayapin, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, School of Law, KIMEP University

142. David J. Scheffer, Clinical Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

143. Roman Schmidt-Radefeldt, Legal Advisor of international law, Research Services of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) and lecturer in International Law, Humboldt-University Berlin

144. Michael Schmitt, Professor of International Law at the University of Reading and Francis Lieber Distinguished Scholar at the United States Military Academy (West Point)

145. Iain GM Scobbie, Professor of Public International Law, Director of the Manchester International Law Centre, University of Manchester

146. Irene Vázquez Serrano, Assistant Professor of International Law, University of Murcia, Spain

147. Bruno Simma, Member, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, former Judge at the International Court of Justice, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, U.S.A.

148. Robert D. Sloane, Professor of Law and R. Gordon Butler Scholar in International Law, Boston University School of Law

149. David Sloss, John A. and Elizabeth H. Sutro Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law

150. Ronald C. Slye, Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law

151. Peter J. Spiro, Charles R. Weiner Professor of Law, Co-Director, Institute for International Law and Public Policy, Temple University School of Law

152. Ralph G. Steinhardt, Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law & Jurisprudence; Co-Founder, GW-Oxford Programme in International Human Rights Law, The George Washington University Law School

153. Dale Stephens, Professor of Law, The University of Adelaide Law School

154. Surya P. Subedi, QC, OBE, DCL, Professor, School of Law, University of Leeds, England; Barrister, Three Stone Chambers, Lincoln’s Inn, London

155. James Summers, Senior Lecturer and Director of the Centre for International Law and Human Rights, Law School, Lancaster University

156. Shana Tabak, Executive Director, Tahirih Justice Center

157. Stefan Talmon, Professor and Director, Institute for Public International Law, University of Bonn, and Visiting Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford

158. Ruti Teitel, Ernst C Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law, Director, Institute on Global Law, Justice and Policy, New York Law School

159. Patrick Terry, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Public Administration Kehl, Germany

160. Nicholas Tsagourias, Professor of International Law, University of Sheffield

161. Tsvetelina van Benthem, Research Officer, ELAC

162. Willem van Genugten, em. Professor of International Law, Tilburg University

163. Liis Vihul, Founder and CEO, Cyber Law International

164. John Paolo Roberto A. Villasor, Dean and Professor of Law, UNO-Recoletos School of Law, Philippines

165. Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg, Professor of Public International Law and European Law, European University, Frankfurt (Oder)

166. Michael Waibel, Professor of International Law, University of Vienna, Austria

167. Christopher Waters, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, Canada

168. Eliza Watt, Lecturer in Law and Researcher in Mass Cyber Surveillance and International Human Rights, Middlesex University, London

169. Steven Wheatley, Professor of International Law, University of Lancaster

170. Ralph Wilde, Associate Professor of International Law, University College London, University of London

171. Pål Wrange, Professor of International Law, Director, Stockholm Centre for International Law and Justice, Stockholm University