Date/Horaire
31/03/2025
19 h 00 - 20 h 30 Europe/Paris
Location
Café de la Mairie
Café de la Mairie: 51 rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris, France Tube station: Arts et Métiers, line 3 or 11
At the onset of the 21st century, the application of law as a means of warfare has garnered considerable attention across diverse media platforms worldwide. While this phenomenon is not inherently negative, its misuse and misinterpretation can undermine the foundational principles of the international rules-based order, which is rooted in democracy, transparency, and respect for human rights. Lawfare is strategically employed to manipulate legal arguments and leverage existing international institutions to further military and political objectives. This term encompasses both the use of legal frameworks as weapons and the exploitation of legal systems for political and strategic gains. Furthermore, it refers to the tactical manipulation of legal structures to gain advantages in armed conflicts.
To date, lawfare has not been prominently featured in the official documents or policy frameworks of Western nations, including NATO Member States. The Alliance has only briefly acknowledged it through the term “legal operation.” In contrast, authoritarian regimes have adeptly mastered the art of legal warfare, persistently advancing their agendas against Western democracies and the values they represent.
This raises important questions:
How can we effectively respond to this non-kinetic threat in a culturally sensitive manner?
Do we recognize lawfare as a critical component of hybrid warfare, and how can we foster a global dialogue on this issue?
Dr. Joanna Siekiera is an international lawyer and an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law and Administration, War Studies University in Warsaw, Poland. She is also a fellow at the U.S. Marine Corps University in Quantico and supports various military institutions, primarily NATO, as a legal advisor Dr. Siekiera did her postdoctoral research at the Faculty of Law, University of Bergen, Norway, and Ph.D. studies in New Zealand at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington. She worked in Polish diplomatic missions in Canada and Estonia.
She is the author of over 100 scientific publications in several languages, legal opinions for the Polish Ministry of Justice, the book “Regional Policy in the South Pacific”, and the editor of 10 monographs on international law, international relations, and security. Her areas of expertise are the law of armed conflict (lawfare, legal culture in armed conflict, NATO legal framework) and the Indo-Pacific region, Pacific law, maritime security.