The Cyber Law Toolkit, a leading interactive platform on international law and cyber activities, has released its 2025 annual update, further strengthening its role as a trusted reference for governments, militaries, and academics worldwide. The Toolkit is now accepting submissions for new scenarios to be included in the 2026 general update.
The Toolkit offers a unique combination of resources, including detailed hypothetical scenarios, a repository of real-world cyber incidents, and a comprehensive collection of national positions on international law in cyberspace. These features make it an essential guide for officials and practitioners navigating the legal challenges posed by cyber activities.
The 2025 update introduces three new scenarios addressing some of the most pressing issues in contemporary cyberspace:
- Scenario 33 explores the obligation of peaceful dispute resolution under international law, whilst shedding light on cyber-specific challenges of concepts such as good faith in negotiations.
- Scenario 34 considers large-scale cyber operations against civilian infrastructure, assessing whether severe cyberattacks in fact constitute crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.
- Scenario 35 examines cyber measures during occupation, focusing on rerouting internet traffic, mass surveillance, and data collection, and assessing their compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law.
The collection of real-world incidents has also expanded to nearly 80 entries, capturing the latest developments from around the globe. Meanwhile, the database of State views on international law and cyber activities continues to grow, now tracking national positions of 35 States and two common positions (African Union and European Union). This comparative resource allows States to examine how others interpret and apply international law in the cyber context, and has been acknowledged in several official positions and multilateral fora.
The project remains a collaborative effort, developed by an editorial team led by Professor Kubo Mačák (University of Exeter), Tomáš Minárik (Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency), and Otakar Horák (NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence). Contributions undergo rigorous internal and external peer review, drawing on the expertise of dozens of international lawyers from diverse professional and geographic backgrounds.
The annual update the Cyber Law Toolkit was presented as part of the International Law of Cyber Operations Course curriculum. The course director Otakar Horák emphasized:
„The Centre considers the Toolkit as one of our key joint endeavours, one that connects the academic legal expertise with real life occurences. With the addition of new scenarios the Toolkit further aids in fostering comprehension of complex international legal issues that are arising in cyberspace.“
Earlier this year, the Cyber Law Toolkit received the prestigious Jus Gentium Research Award of the American Society of International Law, recognising its contributions to providing and enhancing legal information resources in international law. With this accolade, the Toolkit joined an illustrious list of past recipients including the United Nations Digital Library, the World Legal Information Institute, and the ICC Legal Tools Database.
The Toolkit is supported by six partner institutions: the Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, the University of Exeter, the U.S. Naval War College, and Wuhan University.
Call for Submissions
The project team is now inviting proposals for new scenarios for inclusion in the 2026 update. Each submission should describe a hypothetical cyber incident and discuss the international legal issues it presents. The submission deadline is 14 November 2025.
Successful authors will receive an honorarium.
For more information on the submission process, please download the full details here: Cyber Law Toolkit: Call for Submissions for the 2026 Annual Update (PDF).