The Role of Criminal Law Approaches Against Hybrid Attacks

Hybrid threats have become a topic high on the international agenda. Hybrid-attacks may be classical criminal activities driven by personal motives and economic gain. However, this article deals with hybrid threats that go beyond mere criminal activity, aimed at states’ vulnerabilities in a wider context. The hybrid nature of these attacks can engage different or hybrid legal responses – a criminal law response or a peace time legal response but within a conflict-based legal paradigm. The question is, what are the challenges and the added value of a criminal law approach to hybrid threats? Focusing on international and national criminal law regulating hybrid-attacks, this chapter considers the three scenarios of attacks against critical infrastructure, jamming of maritime navigation and physical attacks on submarine cables. The chapter highlights the complexities involved in criminal law approaches, requiring interaction and cooperation between the international and national levels, but also the potential advantages of integrating criminal law approaches into a broader military strategy.