Robotic Weapon Systems and Their Compliance with International Law

By the turn of the 21st century, robotic technology is helping to move man further and further away from the battlefield. While several of these advancements still require a human operator, some of these advances are fully automatic and overturn the paradigm that warfare consists of violence, hatred, and enmity. Although robotics’ technical progress is accelerating rapidly, the work being done to evaluate the impact of robotics on international law and ethical issues is not keeping up. The present study will examine the issue of robotic weapon systems and their relationship or compliance with international law norms, e.g., robots’ compliance with the core principles of the law of war, basic norms of International Human rights law, e.g., humanity, and robots with other legal instruments. The following ar