Cybergedon: Twenty-Five Minutes to Midnight

Centre for Research on International Law in Cyberspace, "Lodz Cyber Hub," is proud to present the report from this year's edition of the Summer School on Internet Governance and International Law (SSIGIL 2026): Twenty-Five Minutes to Midnight: The Accountability Gap. The report is the result of a week of exercises applying public international law to questions of cybersecurity and the regulation of artificial intelligence. 

Modelled on the concept of the Doomsday Clock devised by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the SSIGIL Clock confirms a conclusion well grounded in doctrine: the legal framework governing state responsibility in cyberspace, from the UN Charter to the due diligence standard developed in the Corfu Channel case, is clear and coherent. What is lacking, however, is a forum competent to examine a specific allegation of a breach of international law involving the use of the latest technologies. Unverified accusations are resolved politically, which hardens alliances within what participants termed the "1914 mechanism." It is this institutional gap, rather than the scale of any single incident, that brings the world closer to a global security crisis. Participants further identified generative artificial intelligence as a systemic threat, lowering the cost of both cyberattacks and state-sponsored disinformation. This shift is occurring faster than the structures of international law are able to adapt.

The report stands as a concrete example of multistakeholder internet governance processes in practice: the direct application of public international law, its doctrine, and sources in the areas of state responsibility and treaty interpretation by a new generation of researchers to one of the most important questions of our time. It is the product of an intensive five-day programme delivered under the SSIGIL Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme and its consortium of five partner universities. SSIGIL, now in its third edition, strengthens the position of the University of Lodz as one of Europe's leading centres for training young international lawyers.

The SSIGIL Clock exercise was conceived and led by Jason Bonsall, who designed and facilitated the Day 5 capstone session. The report, edited by Jason Bonsall and Joanna Kulesza, reflects the shared position of the SSIGIL 2026 participants in answering one of the most important questions of contemporary international law: how to safeguard international peace in an era of artificial intelligence and cyberattacks? This achievement is a source of pride for the University of Lodz and for all SSIGIL partners.

The SSIGIL Clock graphic was designed by Renato Di Stefano.