DEPLOYMENT OF AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS IN THE WARFARE: ADDRESSING ACCOUNTABILITY GAPS AND REFORMULATING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

Abstract

The importance of autonomous weapon systems (AWS) is particularly apparent in contemporary conflicts, in which all parties are striving to expand the autonomy of these systems, particularly in offensive contexts. The traditional understanding is that the deployment of AWS poses significant threats to civilian life, as well as a range of delicate legal concerns. The narrow understanding is evident in the principal drawbacks of AWS in the absence of human supervision, which results in unpredictable and unreliable outputs, particularly during the targeting and engagement stages, leading to a clear breach of international humanitarian law (IHL). This creates a legal vacuum regarding the attribution of criminal responsibility. This research paper aims to characterise AWS and the implications of their potential deployment, with the primary goal of better identifying and understanding emerging legal concerns. Furthermore, the authors seek to offer a comprehensive understanding of the concept of autonomy, which is internationally accepted. Additionally, they explore the validity of the statement that AWS create an accountability gap relating to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute by analysing various types of AWS that are categorised in this study and deployed in modern wars. While the ICC Statute does not explicitly address all issues raised by using AWS, the study presents an interpretation that criminal responsibility could be assigned to all individuals involved in the use of AWS, especially in thorny situations. This study employs an analytical approach to examine and analyse traditional theories of criminology and the ICC Statute in relation to the ability to attribute individual criminal responsibility when AWS may be used. This study aims to provide a new perspective on criminal legal rules that are compatible with modern technology.