Abstract
The principle of non-intervention belongs amongst the most often discussed
rules of international law with the potential to regulate cyber information (dis- and
misinformation) operations carried out by one state and dedicated to influence another
state’s elections results (through the electorate). Contributions to those discussions differ
significantly however as to the suitability of the rule for this purpose. This article tackles
the issue in a step-by-step analysis, first dealing with the elements of the principle of
non-intervention and its position in the systematics of the law of international peace
and security, secondly analysing the applicability of the rule in cyberspace, in order to
thirdly determine and evaluate what are the critical issues in the application of the
rule to cyber information operations targeting the electorate of another state. Because
the principle belongs to the most approximate rules of international peace and security
regulation to tackle these operations, the last section is dedicated to recommendations
that if applied, they might increase the likelihood of the applicability of the principle
of non-intervention to the operations discussed.
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