THE PROBLEM OF GPS SPOOFING IN THE LAW OF THE SEA

The article is dedicated to a comprehensive analysis of the international legal challenges posed by navigation spoofing (deliberate distortion of signals) to maritime safety. The author finds that despite the evolution of this threat from a hypothetical vulnerability into a tangible systemic risk, a significant legal vacuum persists in contemporary international law. While key existing conventions, such as United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea of 1974, lack direct provisions on spoofing, leading to problems with qualification, attribution of attacks and jurisdiction establishment, while other legal mechanisms, particularly the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation of 1988, hold potential to counter this threat  through broad interpretation. As the main research outcome, a multi-level strategy for improvement of the legal regime is proposed. Its key elements include: an initiative to develop an explanatory instrument within the International Maritime Organisation that explicitly qualifies spoofing as a crime; enhancing the role of «soft law» through the monitoring and reporting mechanisms of the International Telecommunication Union; integrating mandatory technical standards into the legal framework, including backup terrestrial navigation systems and cryptographic data authentication protocols. It is concluded that an effective response requires a synthesis of international and national rulemaking, technological standardization and the creation of new formats for operational interagency and interstate cooperation to form a comprehensive technical and legal framework to ensure the security of maritime navigation