Addressing Russian Threat. Changes to Defence Policies of the Nordic States After 2014

The substantial deterioration of the security environment after Russian aggression against Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 was a catalyst for significant changes in the Nordic states’ approach to security and defence. Common perceptions of the Russian threat focused defence policies of the Nordic states around rebuilding total defence capabilities, which would combine military and civilian efforts. Besides these efforts to reinforce national capacity to defend against an armed attack, the Nordic states increased regional security and defence cooperation, along with cooperation with NATO, the EU and the United States. The article explores the developments in defence policies of the Nordic states that were a result of changes in the security environment caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. It tries to discuss differences in national threat assessment, and then compare and contrast unique national approaches to defence policies that were adopted by the Nordic states. The conclusion conceptualizes unique features of the Nordic approach to defence stemming from the common threat to their security.

Cyber warfare and the law of armed conflict

<p>This paper discusses cyber warfare and its intersection with the law of armed conflict. Cyberspace creates a unique battlefield with many challenges. This paper tackles four of these challenges: distinguishing warfare acts from criminal activities; what amounts to an armed attack in cyberspace that justifies a State’s right to selfdefence; target distinction; and direct participation in cyber hostilities. It is the author’s determination that the law of armed conflict does apply in cyberspace however two additional changes are needed for the traditional laws to have any practical effect. These two variations include the extension of the traditional criteria of armed attack to include severe data loss as tangible property damage; and reexamining the framework of direct participation.</p>

Cyber warfare and the law of armed conflict

<p>This paper discusses cyber warfare and its intersection with the law of armed conflict. Cyberspace creates a unique battlefield with many challenges. This paper tackles four of these challenges: distinguishing warfare acts from criminal activities; what amounts to an armed attack in cyberspace that justifies a State’s right to selfdefence; target distinction; and direct participation in cyber hostilities. It is the author’s determination that the law of armed conflict does apply in cyberspace however two additional changes are needed for the traditional laws to have any practical effect. These two variations include the extension of the traditional criteria of armed attack to include severe data loss as tangible property damage; and reexamining the framework of direct participation.</p>

The Ripple Effects of Maritime Piracy and Armed Robbery in the Gulf of Guinea

The acts of piracy had bedeviled mankind for many centuries though the modus operandi of this sinister act keeps changing over the years. The core concept still remains the same. It usually involves an armed attack at sea for a vessel, its cargo, crew or all of the three. The stage is set at sea, but the fall out effects are far reaching than we can imagine. There are political, economic social, security and environmental implications. All these aggregates or determinants are intertwined and have adverse consequences on all the stakeholders. Failed states political instability has become fertile grounds for pirates or sea armed robbers. Economically, the disruption of free movement of vessels, capture of crew for ransom has adversely affected the prices of goods at its final destination. This paper seeks to examine the relationships and effects these attacks have on the various facets of the marine logistic chain. The socio-economic model of Dr Kenneth McLeroy is used to explain the various linkages existing between these determinants viz economic perspective, social perspective, environmental perspective and political instability. Finally, the relevance of maritime security in the sphere of governance and the ability of institutions which would use the safety of our oceans is examined.

EXAMINING THE INTERNATIONAL LAW RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENCE: THE CASE OF RUSSIA AND GEORGIA; ISRAEL AND GAZA

Article 2(4) of the UN Charter establishes the doctrine of the prohibition of the use of force amongst member states of the UN. Article 51 lays down exceptions to this rule in terms of the fact that there can be an individual and/or collective use of force in self-defence in the case of an armed attack. This individual or collective use of force is permitted to continue until such a time as the Security Council takes such actions as are necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has further confirmed this prohibition of the use of force in the Nicaragua case, Congo v Uganda and Oil Platforms cases. This area ofinternational law has seen a lot of discussions and developments over the years. The purpose of this article is to examine the efficacy of the use of force between Russia and Georgia; and Israel and Gaza in 2008. It would be examined if these armed attacks are justifiable by the doctrine of self-defence and the recent developments in the field in international law, or if they in fact constitute a breach of the international law prohibition on the use of force.

11. Use of force

This chapter examines under what circumstances States may use armed force under customary international law and Arts 2(4) and 51 UN Charter. After noting that the use of armed force is generally prohibited and only limited to self-defence, and then only if the target State is under an armed attack, we show that several States have expanded the notion of armed attack. Besides self-defence, the United Nations Security Council may authorize the use of armed force through a process of collective security. Several examples of collective security are offered, as well as the ICJ’s position on what constitutes an armed attack. In recent years, the range of actors capable of undertaking an armed attack has included terrorists. Moreover, the development of the doctrine of the responsibility to protect is a significant achievement.

Conclusions

Chapter 5 completes this book by setting out its conclusions. It provides a summary of the theory and practice relating to necessity and proportionality and considers the strengths and weakness of the current law. This author suggests that the analytical framework set out in this book offers the opportunity for a doctrinal switch that recognizes necessity and proportionality, and not the armed attack, as the core regulating requirements of the exercise of self-defence. The chapter rounds off the exploration of this subject by considering improvements to the reporting and monitoring of claims of self-defence and possible options for future legal development.

«GANG» AS A FORM OF CRIMINAL COMPLIANCE IN PRE-REVOLUTIONARY CRIMINAL LEGISLATION (IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FOLLOWING TRANSFORMATION IN THE «BAND»)

The article presents an analysis of the norms of pre-revolutionary criminal legislation (Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments of 1885), regulating such a form of criminal complicity as a «gang». The article shows the position of the legislator, who actually brought together the elements of crimes committed by a criminal gang (primarily property robbery) and crimes against the state in the form of an armed attack on «volost and public administrations». The conclusion is made that, taking into account the strengthening of the revolutionary movement at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the increased social danger of armed criminal gangs dictated the need to separate an independent corpus delicti, which was done, but after 1917, by the Soviet legislator in the form of banditry.

PROBLEMS OF SPECIFICATION OF CRIME RELATED TO THE INVOLVEMENT OF A MINOR IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES

The article presents an analysis of the norms of pre-revolutionary criminal legislation (Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments of 1885), regulating such a form of criminal complicity as a «gang». The article shows the position of the legislator, who actually brought together the elements of crimes committed by a criminal gang (primarily property robbery) and crimes against the state in the form of an armed attack on «volost and public administrations». The conclusion is made that, taking into account the strengthening of the revolutionary movement at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the increased social danger of armed criminal gangs dictated the need to separate an independent corpus delicti, which was done, but after 1917, by the Soviet legislator in the form of banditry.

Semantic Analysis of Digital Destructive Content of School Shooting in the Social Network ‘VKontakte’

Since the middle 1970s, the public has been seriously concerned about cases of school shooting — an armed attack by students on educational organizations. The global type of activity of social networks, as well as the high potential for the dissemination of destructive information in cyberspace with the use of anonymization, assigns digital resources, in fact, unlimited freedom of action. In this study, an attempt to semantic content analysis of digital destructive content of school shooting is made. The purpose of the study is to determine the system of signs of destructive content suitable for its identification in cyberspace through semantic analysis of the text openly published by users on the social network ‘Vkontakte’, using neural networks. The conducted research allowed us to identify a number of important signs of destructive content of school shooting with the allocation of thematic groups: indirect content of school shooting; drug content; mental distress.