scholarly journals Debating Autonomous Weapon Systems, their Ethics, and their Regulation under International Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Anderson ◽  
Matthew C. Waxman
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Target Selection ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
International Debate ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Law And Ethics ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

An international public debate over the law and ethics of autonomous weapon systems (AWS) has been underway since 2012, with those urging legal regulation of AWS under existing principles and requirements of the international law of armed conflict in argument with opponents who favour, instead, a preemptive international treaty ban on all such weapons. This chapter provides an introduction to this international debate, offering the main arguments on each side. These include disputes over defining an AWS, the morality and law of automated targeting and target selection by machine, and the interaction of humans and machines in the context of lethal weapons of war. Although the chapter concludes that a categorical ban on AWS is unjustified morally and legally—favouring the law of armed conflict’s existing case-by-case legal evaluation—it offers an exposition of arguments on each side of the AWS issue.

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kubo Mačák
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

This chapter presents the conclusions of the book. It summarizes the argument of the book and makes some general observations about the process and effects of internationalization of armed conflicts in international law. Specifically, the chapter builds on the preceding analysis to argue that the study stands for a specific understanding of the notion of internationalized armed conflicts, one that is subject to an extensive application of the law of armed conflict. It further highlights some of the gaps in the legal regulation that result from the particular features of internationalized conflicts. The chapter closes by sketching potential directions in which the law and practice may develop in order to address those lacunae.

The Taliban Layeha for Mujahidin and the Law of Armed Conflict

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niaz A. Shah
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Short History ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Law ◽  
International Character ◽  
Better Than

In 2010 the Taliban issued a third edition of their Layeha. The Layeha contains Rules and Regulations of Jihad for Mujahidin. This article first details the short history of the Layeha published by the Taliban. Subsequently its content is analysed and compared with the international law of armed conflict that applies in conflicts of an international and non-international character. The author demonstrates that, whilst some rules are incompatible or ambiguous, most rules of the Layeha are compatible with the international law of armed conflict. Compliance with the rules that are compatible could help to achieve the objectives of the law of armed conflict: to minimise unnecessary suffering in armed conflict. The author submits that considering that the Taliban are engaged in fighting in Afghanistan and that they have control of or influence in parts Afghanistan, it is encouraging that they have produced such a self-imposed code. Any minimum restraint, whether self-imposed or imposed by municipal or international law, is better than no restraint at all.

1 Introduction

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boothby William H
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Important Distinction ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Arms Trade ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
The Law

This relatively brief chapter introduces the book as a whole. It positions weapons law within the framework of international law in general, and of the law of armed conflict in particular, noting the important distinctions between international and non-international armed conflicts, and between the law on the resort to the use of force and that which regulates the conduct of hostilities. The logical flow of the book is presented, and certain terms that are vital to the ensuing discussion, namely weapons, means of warfare and methods of warfare are explained. The all-important distinction between weapons law and the legal rules that regulate targeting is noted. A concluding section addresses the recently-adopted Arms Trade Treaty.

Weapons and the Law of Armed Conflict

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boothby William H
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Arms Trade ◽  
Logical Sequence ◽  
The Law

This book brings the legal rules governing the use of weapons in armed conflict together into a single volume and interprets and applies those principles and rules to particular weapons technologies. It is the essential reference book for anyone dealing or concerned with the international law applying to weaponry. After relating the historical evolution of weapons law, identifying its sources and discussing the important customary principles that are the foundation of the subject, the book explains to the reader in a logical sequence of chapters how treaty and customary rules apply to particular categories of weapon or to relevant technologies, both traditional and novel. Having explained to the reader how the existing law applies across the full range of weapons technologies, the book discusses how this dynamic field of international law may be expected to develop in the years ahead. This new edition tackles challenging weapons law issues such as the new treaty law on expanding bullets and on the arms trade, novel technologies in the fields of chemistry and biology, the topical controversies associated with autonomous and automated weapon systems, and how law applies to weapons in outer space and to cyber weapons. The law applicable in non-international armed conflicts is summarized; compliance and weapon reviews are carefully explained; and recent international and national military manuals, and other developments in the wider literature, are thoroughly reflected throughout the text.

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