Hybrid Naval Warfare through the Lens of Maritime Security Law

The conference focuses on drawing conclusions on the project LOSFARE (Law of the Sea and Hybrid Warfare). By building on the previous LOSFARE workshop (in 2022) on regional perspectives to hybrid threats and the law of the sea, it strives to reach general conclusions about how the law operates in hybrid warfare.

The conference looks for answers to the following research questions:

  • How is hybrid naval warfare – if at all – different from naval war or law enforcement?
  • What is the threshold for the applicability of the law of naval warfare in hybrid warfare and to what extent State practice shows that it is possible to apply such threshold?
  • How hybrid naval warfare impacts on the safety of civil maritime infrastructure: ports, submarine pipelines and cables, etc?
  • How can the law of the sea and international security law contribute to ensuring stability in major shipping routes in hybrid warfare?

The conference theme is approached from a broad perspective and enough time is allocated for discussions in each panel. The presentations are divided between five panels. The panels are devoted to the following themes:

Panel 1. Is there a Need for a Legal Concept of Hybrid Naval Warfare?

Panel 2. The Threshold for the Applicability of the Law of Naval Warfare

Panel 3. The Legal Resilience of Offshore Infrastructure to Hybrid Threats

Panel 4. Hybrid Threats to International Navigation

Panel 5. Legal Resilience to Hybrid Threats at the Domestic, EU and NATO Levels