International Humanitarian Law and the Changing Technology of War

Increasingly, war is and will be fought by machines – and virtual networks linking machines - which, to varying degrees, are controlled by humans. This book explores the legal challenges for armed forces resulting from the development and use of new military technologies – automated and autonomous weapon systems, cyber weapons, “non-lethal” weapons and advanced communications - for the conduct of warfare. The contributions, each written by scholars and military officers with expertise in International Humanitarian Law (IHL), provide analysis and recommendations for armed forces as to how these new technologies may be used in accordance with international law. Moreover, the chapters provide suggestions for military doctrine to ensure continued compliance with IHL during this ever-more-rapid evolution of technology.

Dan Saxon currently teaches Global Justice at Leiden University College in The Hague. Saxon was previously a Visiting Professor of International Criminal Law at the University of Utrecht and the Leverhulme Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge, where he taught International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law. He was a prosecutor at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia from 1998-2010 and served as the Legal Adviser to the United Nations Commission of Inquiry for Syria.