The Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference brings together operators, policymakers, and scholars to examine and address the most current and important legal issues impacting our global Navy. Held annually, the conference honors the legacy of Alexander Cushing, a prominent lawyer who joined the U.S. Navy after Pearl Harbor and served during WWII.
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8th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference
Stockton Center for International Law
Conflict at Sea
Seoul, Republic of Korea | 8-9 June 2026 The Stockton Center for International Law, in partnership with the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS), hosted the 8th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference, Conflict at Sea, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 8-9 June 2026. The conference brought together military leaders, government officials, legal advisers, policymakers, and scholars to examine emerging challenges in maritime security and international law.The conference attracted approximately 80 participants, including 40 registrants and 40 speakers, representing 10 countries, with significant participation from the Republic of Korea Navy and regional maritime-security stakeholders. Holding the conference in the Indo-Pacific enabled broader regional participation and strengthened engagement with allied and partner nations.
Discussions focused on a range of contemporary maritime-security issues, including gray-zone competition, maritime sanctions enforcement, critical undersea infrastructure, deep seabed mining, emerging technologies, and the evolving character of conflict at sea. Participants examined how strategic competition increasingly unfolds below the threshold of armed conflict and assessed the implications for international law, deterrence, and maritime governance. Discussions also highlighted the deliberate use of legal ambiguity as a tool of strategic competition, the rapid pace of technological change relative to legal and regulatory frameworks, and the growing importance of allied cooperation in sustaining maritime order and enforcing international norms.
The conference emphasized the continuing importance of education and professional development in the law of naval warfare. Attendees underscored the need for commanders, legal advisers, and multinational staffs to develop a common understanding of the legal framework governing maritime operations in increasingly complex coalition environments.
The 8th Annual Cushing Conference advanced scholarship on maritime security and international law, strengthened professional relationships among allies and partners, and reinforced the Stockton Center's role as a leading forum for discussion of contemporary maritime-security challenges. Selected conference findings and presentations will be published as a special International Law Studies volume, extending the conference's contribution to the development of international maritime law and policy.
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7th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference
Stockton Center for International Law
The Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea (IMLOS), in collaboration with the Stockton Center for International Law (SCIL) of the U.S. Naval War College (USNWC) and Amador Research Services, hosted the 7th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference, “Security at Sea,” on May 13–14, 2025, at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law Bonifacio Global City (BGC) Campus in Manila, Philippines. The annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference brings together world-renowned scholars and practitioners in international law and oceans law and policy to address pressing and emerging issues in maritime law, governance, and security at sea, drawing participants from international organizations, academia, the diplomatic corps, and military and government legal and operational communities worldwide.
Marking a historic milestone as the first Cushing Conference hosted outside the United States, the 2025 program centered on international legal frameworks governing naval, coast guard, and expeditionary Marine forces in the Indo-Pacific region, with distinguished contributors from Australia, France, Germany, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, India, Singapore, the Philippines, and the United States. Panels addressed issues including lawfare and maritime security in Southeast Asia; jurisdictional competition and territorial disputes in East Asia; undersea infrastructure and strategic competition; gray-zone challenges in the law of naval warfare; and peacetime and conflict-related maritime issues ranging from fishing and seabed mining to Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), maritime trade, convoy law, and interoperability and force synchronization.
Event | 7th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Conference
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6th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference
Stockton Center for International Law
The Stockton Center for International Law is pleased to announce its 6th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference, “Multi-Domain Operations in the Indo-Pacific and International Law," May 14-16, 2024.
Multi-Domain Operations are the combined arms employment of joint capabilities to create and exploit advantages, achieve objectives, and defeat enemy forces. Multi-Domain Operations make use of all available combat power from each Service to accomplish missions at least cost. This expansive approach to all-domain combat operations necessitates a similarly broadened and interdisciplinary approach to the international law governing these operations.
The 6th Annual Cushing Conference will address a broad range of issues, including the international laws applicable to naval and joint operations in the Indo-Pacific; the synchronization of special operations, cyber operations, and space operations; China and the law of armed conflict; and foreign perspectives on Multi-Domain Operations (FVEY and East Asian allies). The Stockton Center’s Cushing Conference will bring together international organizations, the global academic community, military and government attorneys, and experts in military operations from the United States, Asia, and Europe. Selected research presented at the event will be published in International Law Studies, the oldest journal of international law in the United States.
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The 5th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference: "International Law and Conflict at Sea"
Stockton Center for International Law
Hosted annually by the Stockton Center for International Law, the 5th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference brings together judge advocates, scholars, and practitioners from across the world to analyze international law and conflict at sea. This year, the Conference will focus on Law of the Sea & Maritime Security; Marine Environmental Security; Disruptive Technology at Sea; Armed Conflict at Sea; Indo-Pacific Maritime Security; Great Power Competition and International Law; and the Law of Naval Warfare, among other topics.
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The 4th Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference: "International Law: Conflict at Sea"
Stockton Center for International Law
Hosted annually by the Stockton Center for International Law, the Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference brings together judge advocates, scholars, and practitioners from across the world to develop and shape international maritime law and governance. This year, we will focus on international law and conflict at sea, examining current operations and emerging issues to include disruptive technologies at sea, maritime law enforcement, Russia and regional maritime security, and maritime security challenges in the East China Sea, South China Sea, and greater Indo-Pacific.
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The 3rd Annual Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference: "Rule of Law in the Indo-Pacific Region and Beyond"
Stockton Center for International Law
Hosted annually by the Stockton Center for International Law, the Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference brings together scholars and practitioners from across the world to develop and shape international maritime law and governance. This year, we will focus on the rule of law and great power competition in the Indo-Pacific region and the Arctic Ocean, as well as exploring climate change and illegal fishing.
