<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Despite the increased attention that was given to data protection laws in national jurisdictions – especially after the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation by the European Union – international law still does not offer a higher standard of protection to the personal data of civilians in times of armed conflict, where the deletion or manipulation of personal data of the civilian population can have significant harmful effects. This article explains that at the time of the adoption of the relevant international treaties and the development of customary international law, international humanitarian law (IHL) did not protect personal data stored electronically, and even though commentators in contemporary times tend to accept the object status of electronic data, State practice still remains inconclusive, largely excluding computerized personal data from the protective regime of IHL. The article argues further that a stricter protection of personal data regulation could potentially lead to harmful effects for protected persons, such as civilians, therefore it is undesirable. The protective nature of IHL must prevail over the data protection interests.</p>
</abstract>

Despite the increased attention that was given to data protection laws in national jurisdictions – especially after the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation by the European Union – international law still does not offer a higher standard of protection to the personal data of civilians in times of armed conflict, where the deletion or manipulation of personal data of the civilian population can have significant harmful effects. This article explains that at the time of the adoption of the relevant international treaties and the development of customary international law, international humanitarian law (IHL) did not protect personal data stored electronically, and even though commentators in contemporary times tend to accept the object status of electronic data, State practice still remains inconclusive, largely excluding computerized personal data from the protective regime of IHL. The article argues further that a stricter protection of personal data regulation could potentially lead to harmful effects for protected persons, such as civilians, therefore it is undesirable. The protective nature of IHL must prevail over the data protection interests.

Protection of (Personal) Data in Armed Conflicts

Baltic Journal of Law & Politics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Protection of (Personal) Data in Armed Conflicts"}

Despite the increased attention that was given to data protection laws in national jurisdictions – especially after the adoption of the General Data Protection...

Protection of (Personal) Data in Armed Conflicts

Data publikacji: 26 cze 2024

Zakres stron: 1 - 20

Otrzymano: 06 wrz 2023

Przyjęty: 10 sty 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2024-0001

Słowa kluczowe
Personal data, object, IHL, cyberspace, civilian, cyber operation

© 2024 Bence Kis., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Protection of (Personal) Data in Armed Conflicts

Data publikacji: 26 cze 2024

Zakres stron: 1 - 20

Otrzymano: 06 wrz 2023

Przyjęty: 10 sty 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2024-0001

Słowa kluczowePersonal data, object, IHL, cyberspace, civilian, cyber operation

© 2024 Bence Kis., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Słowa kluczowe
Personal data, object, IHL, cyberspace, civilian, cyber operation