Assessing LOAC Compliance and Discourse as New Technologies Emerge

2019 ◽  
pp. 27-44
Author(s):  
Laurie R. Blank
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Legal Compliance ◽  
Cause And Effect ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law ◽  
Necessary Connections

This chapter explores the consequences for effective discourse about the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) compliance of new technologies that intentionally or effectively mask the effects of an attack, the location or identify of the attackers, or even the very existence of an attack during armed conflict. The emergence of new weapons technologies that hinder or eliminate our ability to see the effects of attacks, to make the necessary connections between cause and effect, or to even identify the existence of an attack, may well erode the current trend towards the use of effects-driven, outcome-based analysis, which, although incorrect as a matter of law, nonetheless has captured attention. Examining how legal compliance can or would be assessed in such situations of new technologies is therefore useful to help enhance both implementation and analysis of the law. The chapter first frames the problem that new technologies may pose for assessing LOAC compliance, highlighting what may be, in essence, a new “effects problem.” These problems include situations where the effects of an attack are unclear or cannot be seen at all, where the connection between the weapon or attacker and the effects cannot be identified, and where a harm may occur but it is unclear or impossible to tell that there was an attack. The chapter then addresses the consequences of this potential new “effects problem,” examining the challenges of legal analysis in the absence of externally identifiable information about what happened, who suffered what effects, or who launched what type of weapon or attack. In addition, the chapter seeks to identify pressure points for LOAC analysis in the context of new technologies that place stressors on the traditional tools and touchstones of legal analysis.

New Technologies and the Interplay between Certainty and Reasonableness

2018 ◽  
pp. 317-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Blank
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
Human Understanding ◽  
Legal Regimes ◽  
The Law ◽  
Critical Components ◽  
Over Time

Underlying ongoing and intensive efforts to understand how the law of armed conflict (LOAC) does, could, and should apply to the use of new technologies is an equally comprehensive effort to understand precisely what these new weapons are and how they work. Many new technologies introduce unique questions for human understanding, often driven and exacerbated by the fact that the technology is out of sight or out of reach of human senses, making actual concrete understanding of how it works challenging and elusive. Effective legal analysis and guidance for the use of any weapon rests on an accurate understanding of how that weapon works. This uncertainty and quest for more determinative information about the nature of certain new technologies has the potential for unintended and possibly untoward effects on the very implementation and application of the law itself—in effect, it has the potential to change the law. As in many other legal regimes, critical components of legal analysis and interpretation in LOAC involve reasonableness: that is, whether the actions of a commander were reasonable in the circumstances prevailing at the time. In contrast, the need to understand how a new technology works and what it might do in a given situation, particularly with regard to autonomy, is not an inquiry resting on reasonableness, but rather on the desire for as much certainty as possible. This chapter examines how the development and use of new technologies in weapons may impact the balance between reasonableness and certainty in LOAC, in particular whether a quest for certainty will bleed over into the application and interpretation of the law and, over time, affect the development and understanding of the law itself.

The Impact of Emerging Technologies on the Law of Armed Conflict

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Emerging Technologies ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

Emerging technologies have always played an important role in armed conflict. From the crossbow to cyber capabilities, technology that could be weaponized to create an advantage over an adversary has inevitably found its way into military arsenals for use in armed conflict. The weaponization of emerging technologies, however, raises challenging legal issues with respect to the law of armed conflict. As States continue to develop and exploit new technologies, how will the law of armed conflict address the use of these technologies on the battlefield? Is existing law sufficient to regulate new technologies, such as cyber capabilities, autonomous weapons systems, and artificial intelligence? Have emerging technologies fundamentally altered the way we should understand concepts such as law-of-war precautions and the principle of distinction? How can we ensure compliance and accountability in light of technological advancement? This book explores these critical questions while highlighting the legal challenges—and opportunities—presented by the use of emerging technologies on the battlefield.

The Developing Law of Weapons

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Haines
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Current State ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Future ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Law

This chapter discusses seven key issues. First, it discusses and defines the term ‘weapon’. Secondly, it explores the weapons law element of the law of armed conflict (LOAC), including how it relates to other existing bodies of law dealing with weapons. Thirdly, it gives an account of the development of the conventional law of weapons, because the bulk of current weapons law is contained in treaties that contain important principles underpinning weapons law and define its nature. Fourthly, it identifies these principles and comments on their importance. Fifthly, since conventional law has a vital relationship with customary law, the chapter offers some comment on the current state of the customary law of weapons. Sixthly, it returns to the issue of technology, in particular new technologies that represent significant challenges to existing law. Finally, some attempt is made to assess where the law might go in the future and what issues are likely to be on the agenda in the immediate term.

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