The ABILA International Criminal Court Committee, co-chaired by Jennifer Trahan and Megan Fairlie, co-sponsored a webinar entitled Cyberattacks and the ICC’s Rome Statute with experts from the Council of Advisers on the Rome Statute and Cyberwarfare to discuss their newly launched report on November 5, 2021. Speakers considered when such attacks could be considered the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity, war crimes, or genocide, and what type of cyberattack would reach the “gravity” threshold to fall within the gambit of these crimes under the ICC Statute. With cyberattacks becoming a frequent occurrence, exploration of the topic was particularly timely.

The event featured a keynote address by Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations. Other speakers included Matthew Cross (Appeals Counsel, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court); Oona Hathaway (Yale Law School); Charles C. Jalloh (Florida International University; UN International Law Commission), Claus Kress (University of Cologne; ad hoc Judge, International Court of Justice); and Jennifer Trahan (NYU SPS Center for Global Affairs; Co-Chair of ABILA’s ICC Committee).

This event was hosted by the NYU School of Professional Studies Center for Global Affairs in collaboration with The Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the United Nations; the ABILA ICC Committee; and The Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression.