Section E seeks to show how the law on the conduct of hostilities that would apply in relation to the use of conventional weapons also applies in respect of nuclear weapon operations. The Rules and Commentaries deal with persons participating in the hostilities, who are distinguished from protected civilians, and with specific issues of naval and air warfare. The Rules and Commentaries on nuclear targeting address the notion of ‘attack’, the principle of distinction, prohibited nuclear attacks, the definition of military objectives, proportionality and active and passive precautions. As to methods of nuclear warfare, the Section addresses perfidy and ruses, the improper use of protective indicators and emblems, as well as the concept of zones. The Section further includes Rules and Commentaries on persons and objects entitled to specific protection and on the protection of the natural environment in times of armed conflict.

This chapter covers targeting law, which governs the ways in which weapons may be used in armed conflict. As integration of autonomous control into weapon systems necessarily affects the procedures to be followed in operating those weapons, it must be assessed with respect to the rules of targeting law. Specifically, autonomy in weapons relates to the ‘procedural’ side of targeting: questions of how the legal status of a potential target is to be assessed, what precautions must be taken in planning and conducting an attack, who is responsible for those tasks, and so forth. Accordingly, the first part of the chapter discusses the necessity for and general form of human involvement in planning and conducting autonomous attacks. It refutes the view that human involvement would or could be entirely missing from operations involving autonomous weapons. The second part steps through a model 6-step targeting process to explain the respective contributions of humans and autonomous systems at each stage.