• Offered by Law School
  • ANU College ANU College of Law
  • Course subject Laws
  • Areas of interest Law, International Affairs, International Security
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr William Boothby
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Spring Session 2016
    See Future Offerings

Although the ideas of cyber warfare and of computer network attack are very new, there is growing awareness of the significant issues they raise in the modern world.

The Australian Government is not alone in acknowledging the threat of cyber attacks and the need to develop cyber security capability. Accordingly, there is a strong interest, particularly among Canberra communities, in anticipating potential legal issues that might arise in cyber warfare and in consolidating knowledge as to the applicability of existing rules of international law in this particular context.

An internationally renowned international humanitarian law and weapons law scholar who has recently participated in a central role in the preparation of the Tallinn Manual on the Law of Cyber Warfare, Dr Bill Boothby has kindly agreed to visit Australia to teach this course.

The course which will identify and assess the extent to which norms of existing law can properly be applied to the peculiarities of cyber operations. 

The course will draw on elements of general international law, the international law that governs the recourse to armed force and international humanitarian law, all in the specific context of cyber warfare.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

By the conclusion of this course, it is intended that students who have successfully completed all of the course requirements will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of various international law rules that apply to cyber warfare;
  2. Demonstrate cognitive skills to critically analyse the hypothetical cyber warfare scenarios;
  3. Critically analyse and evaluate international law issues arising from the employment of cyber operations; and
  4. Plan and execute complex legal research with independence in order to produce original scholarship with respect to legal issues arising in the context of cyber warfare.

Other Information

This is an intensive course with a 4 day compulsory intensive (see LLM timetable for dates).
Approximately 6 weeks from the completion of the intensive your final assessment will be due. Contact with fellow students and the convenor, both prior to the intensive and after, is conducted via the Wattle course site.

Indicative Assessment

Assessment is likely to consist of:
  1. Class participation, including presenting/discussing group solutions to set vignettes (10%)
  2. Oral Presentation at end of course (25%)
  3. Two essays (65%, 2,500 words each)

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

26 hours of face to face teaching (4 day intensive). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours. 

Click here for the LLM Masters Program timetable

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must have completed LAWS8182 Principles of International Law and be studying a: Master of Laws (7300XLLM, MLLM), Master of Laws specialising in International Law (7300SINTL), Master of Laws specialising in Law, Governance and Development (7300SLGD), Master of Laws specialising in Environmental Law (7300SENVL), Master of Laws specialising in Government and Commercial Law (7300SGCL), Master of Laws specialising in International Security Law (7300SISL), Master of Laws in Migration (NLLML), Master of Laws in International Law (NLLIL), Master of Laws in Environmental Law (NLLEN), Master of Laws in Law, Governance & Development (NLLGD), Master of Laws in International Security Law (NLLSL), Master of Laws in Government and Regulation (NLLGR), Master of Laws (Legal Practice) (7312XLLMLP), Master of Diplomacy/Master of Laws (7883SINTL, 7883XLLM), Master of Diplomacy/Master of International Law (7893XMINTL), Master of International Law (7310XMINTL), Master of Environmental Law (7309XMENVL), Master of Law, Governance & Development (7317XMLGD), Master of International Security Law (7318XMISL), Master of Government and Commercial Law (7313XMGCL), Master of Legal Practice (MLEGP), Master of Legal Studies (7305XMLEGS). OR Must be studying a Juris Doctor (7330XJD, 7330HJD or MJD) and completed or be completing five LAWS1000 level or 6100 level courses, and LAWS2250 International Law or LAWS6250 International Law OR Must be studying a Graduate Certificate of Law (CLAW) and have completed or be completing LAWS8586 Law and Legal Institutions and LAWS8182 Principles of International Law OR Must be studying a Master of Military Law (MMILL) and have completed either LAWS8162 Military Operations Law or LAWS8166 Adv Military Operations Law OR Must be studying a Juris Doctor (MJDOL) and have completed the course LAWS8712 Australian Public Law & International Law B

Prescribed Texts

Tallinn Manual on the Law of Cyber Warfare (Cambridge University Press).

Preliminary Reading

A reading list will be distributed to the students a few weeks prior to the commencement of the course.

Students must rely on the approved Course Study Guide which will be posted to the Wattle course site approximately 4 weeks prior to the commencement of the course.

An e-brick will be available on the Wattle course site.

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
3
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2016 $3252
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2016 $4638
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Spring Session

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
9504 03 Nov 2016 03 Nov 2016 18 Nov 2016 20 Dec 2016 In Person N/A

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