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International law requires that, before any new weapon is developed, purchased or modified, the legality of its use must be determined. This book offers the first comprehensive and systemic analysis of the law mandating such assessments – Article 36 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. Underpinned by empirical research, the book explores the challenges the weapons review authorities are facing when examining emerging military technology, such as autonomous weapons systems and (autonomous) cyber capabilities. It argues that Article 36 is sufficiently broad to cover a wide range of military systems and offers States the necessary flexibility to adopt a process that best suits their organisational demands. While sending a clear signal that law should not simply follow technological developments, but rather steer them, the provision has its limits, however, which are shaped and defined by the interpretative decisions made by States.
The introductory chapter establishes the context of the discussion and introduces the reader to the requirement placed on States by Article 36 to review the legality of a new weapon, means or method of warfare. With significant funding flowing worldwide into the development of autonomous weapons systems and cyber capabilities, including capabilities underpinned by Artificial Intelligence, the chapter further explains the focus of this book on both types of technology. Being software driven, autonomous weapons systems and cyber capabilities pose a similar set of challenges for ‘traditional’ Article 36 review mechanisms, offering a valuable case study to examine where such mechanisms may need to be adapted in light of contemporary circumstances. The chapter concludes by illuminating doctrinal and empirical sources on which the analysis in the book is based. [129 words]
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