Western Legal Aggression Against Russia: Current Challenges and Countermeasures

International law has long defined aggression as “the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of another state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations”. Even though this definition remains valid, albeit not legally binding, it may seem excessively narrow and does not always reflect the realities of the 21st century, especially with regard to the subjects, forms, and nature of such aggression. Indeed, attacks on the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of states increasingly occur without the use of armed force. Military action is being replaced by so-called lawfare, where the abuse of legal norms as well as legislative, executive, and judicial jurisdiction are used as a means to defeat an enemy. However, the very concept of ‘legal aggression’ has not yet been conceptually defined in domestic doctrine. This term is not mentioned in international law, national legislation, or doctrinal documents as a possible method of international aggression that is comparable with the use of military force. The events of recent years have shown that neither individual states of the so-called collective West nor international organizations, primarily NATO and the EU, bear any international legal responsibility for their aggressive actions towards Russia through the abuse of law, although the phenomenon of such abuse (chicane) is historically prominent in national legal systems. The discussion participants will examine various aspects of the abuse of national and international law as a way of committing aggression. What is the role of international organizations, courts, and arbitration courts that can be used to legitimize illegal attacks on the Russian Federation, Russian individuals and legal entities, and their property? Can we assess the damage caused by aggressive lawfare? What kind of legal responsibility is there for such illegal actions at the national and international level? What can we do to develop mechanisms to counter this type of international aggression?