Are Autonomous Weapon Systems the Subject of Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions?

Abstract

States have an obligation to conduct a legal review of all new weapons to ascertain the legality of the weapons and also to determine whether their use will be in all or some circumstances violate international law. In this paper, I seek to answer two main questions: Firstly, I ask whether fully Autonomous Weapon Systems are stricto sensu weapons for the purposes of conducting the legal review as required by Article 36 of API to the Geneva Conventions.

Secondly, I ask whether fully Autonomous Weapon Systems are within the confines of the basic rules of weapons law – that is, the rule proscribing weapons that are indiscriminate in nature and weapons that cause superfluous harm or unnecessary suffering. I also seek to draw the important distinction between the basic rules of international weapons law listed above and the targeting rules of international humanitarian law as applicable to combatants. Understanding that difference and answering the two questions referred to above is important as a first step towards finding an appropriate response to AWS technology.

Keywords: Killer robots, autonomous weapon systems, article 36 Additional Protocol I, weapon review