• Offered by ANU 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 Online or In Person
  • Offered in Summer Session 2022
    Winter Session 2022
    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:

  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.

Indicative Assessment

  1. Class participation, including presenting/discussing group solutions to set vignettes (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
  2. Oral Presentation at end of course (25) [LO 1,2,3,4]
  3. Two essays (2,500 words each) (65) [LO 1,2,3,4]

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

  • Classes offered in non-standard sessions will be taught on an intensive base with compulsory contact hours (approximately 26 hours of face to face teaching). The course will also require advanced preparation through assigned readings. In total, it is anticipated that the hours required for completion of this course (class preparation, teaching and completion of assessment) will not exceed 120 hours.
  • Classes offered during semester periods are expected to have three contact hours per week.

Click here for the LLM Masters Program course list

Inherent Requirements

Not applicable

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must be studying a; Master of Laws (MLLM) and have completed or be completing LAWS8586 Law and Legal Institutions; or Graduate Certificate of Law (CLAW) and have completed or be completing LAWS8586 Law and Legal Institutions; or Graduate Certificate of New Technologies Law (CNTL); or Juris Doctor (MJD) and have completed or be completing five 1000 or 6100 level LAWS courses; or Master of International Law & Diplomacy (MINLD) and have completed or be completing LAWS8586 Law and Legal Institutions. Students undertaking any ANU graduate program may apply for this course. Enrolments are accepted on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the ANU College of Law for permission code.

Prescribed Texts

Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately two weeks prior to the commencement of the course. Alternatively, this information will be published in the Program course list when known.

Preliminary Reading

Students must rely on the approved Class Summary which will be posted to the Programs and Courses site approximately 2 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.  

Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you 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). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees

Student Contribution Band:
34
Unit value:
6 units

If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found 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
2022 $4740
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2022 $6000
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.

Summer Session

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
1566 10 Jan 2022 11 Jan 2022 21 Jan 2022 24 Feb 2022 Online View

Winter Session

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
4602 12 Sep 2022 13 Sep 2022 23 Sep 2022 27 Oct 2022 Online View

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