From Military Objective to International Responsibility: An Analysis of the Attack on the Vessel Dena in Light of Hard Law and Soft Law Based on the San Remo Manual

The legal analysis of the attack on the vessel Dena transcends the mere description of a naval military incident; rather, it constitutes a test for assessing the relationship between hard law and soft law in the regulation of armed maritime conflicts. The central question is whether the qualification of a vessel as a "military objective" alone can serve as a basis for the lawfulness of an attack and preclude the international responsibility of the attacking State. Employing a descriptive-analytical methodology and relying on the distinction between the law governing the resort to force and the law governing conduct in armed conflict, this article demonstrates that the military character of a vessel is merely one element of assessment within the purview of international humanitarian law. It cannot substitute for the examination of the lawfulness of the resort to force per se, military necessity, proportionality, precautions in attack, respect for the rights of third States, and post-attack obligations towards the wounded and shipwrecked. The article concludes that in maritime armed conflicts, hard law and soft law do not stand in a relationship of opposition; rather, soft law particularly the San Remo Manual plays an interpretative, supplementary, and norm-generating role in the implementation of binding rules. From this perspective, even if the Dena were to be classified among military objectives, the lawfulness of the attack remains contingent upon the simultaneous satisfaction of multiple layers of legal requirements: the legality of the resort to force, compliance with the rules governing the conduct of military operations, respect for the rights of third States, and the fulfilment of humanitarian obligations following the attack.

کلیدواژه ها:

Dena Vessel ، Hard Law ، Soft Law ، San Remo Manual ، Naval Warfare ، resort to force