Professor Schmitt speaks at the annual Fugh Symposium

The symposium brings together the most senior military attorneys from around the world to consider issues at the cutting-edge of law and conflict and to share their concerns and perspectives. Lieutenant General Flora Darpino, Judge Advocate General of the US Army, hosted the event, which included such attendees as Major General Susan Ridge, Director of British Army Legal Services; Major General Blaise Cathcart, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Armed Forces; Brigadier General Sharon Afek, Military Advocate General of the Israeli Defense Force; and Mr. Steven Hill, the Legal Adviser to NATO.

The event kicked off with a discussion between Professor Schmitt and Georgetown Law School’s Rosa Brooks on hybrid warfare moderated by Professor Charles Dunlap of Duke Law School.  Schmitt argued that while the concept of hybrid warfare serves useful operational purposes, it is creating confusion in the legal community.  He suggested that legal analysts should instead be examining legal lines of ambiguity, such as the threshold at which a State may resort to force to defend itself, that are increasing being exploited by States and non-State actors.  The discussion highlighted the innovative work of Exeter Law School scholar Dr. Aural Sari on hybrid warfare.

Following this, Professor Schmitt joined Professor Dunlap and Yale Law School’s Oona Hathaway for a panel on cyber warfare moderated by Colonel Gary Corn, the Staff Judge Advocate for US Cyber Command.  Schmitt spoke on the six year Tallinn Manual project on cyber operations that he has been directing under the auspices of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, discussing areas of the law that remain subject to uncertainty as applied in the cyber context.  In that regard, Professor Schmitt’s newest publication on cyber matters is the lead article in the most recent Journal of Conflict and Security Law.  It can be downloaded here.