Cyberattacks as Grounds for the Declaration of a State of Emergency
Journal Article: Cyberattacks as Grounds for the Declaration of a State of Emergency
Source: Collected Papers at the Faculty of Law of the University of Rijeka
Date of Publication: December 15, 2025
Author: Rok Dacar, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, in the Department for Constitutional, Administrative and Financial Law, at the University of Maribor
How to Cite: Dacar, R. “Cyberattacks as Grounds for the Declaration of a State of Emergency,” Zbornik Pravnog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Rijeci, Vol. 46 No. 3, 607-629 (2025). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30925/zpfsr.46.3.5
Summary: This article examines whether large-scale cyberattacks can be a legitimate reason for declaring a state of emergency. The central thesis is that while cyberattacks do not fit into the traditional categories of emergencies, their increasing capacity to seriously disrupt essential state functions calls for a reassessment of the legal thresholds for the use of emergency powers. The article argues that a cyberattack can justify the declaration of a state of emergency if it causes a systemic disruption to critical infrastructure, public order or national security and reaches a level of severity comparable to conventional emergencies. Real-world examples such as the cyberattacks on Estonia in 2007 and the ransomware crisis in Costa Rica in 2022 show different state responses and the evolving legal perception of cyber threats. At the same time, the article warns against the normalization of emergency regimes in response to persistent or unclear threats in cyberspace. The risk is that democratic governance is undermined by the prolonged or unjustified use of exceptional measures. While cyberattacks can in certain and extreme circumstances justify a state of emergency, such decisions must remain the exception and subject to the principles of necessity, proportionality and democratic control.
The full article can found here, and a downloadable PDF version of the article can be found here.
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