Retaining Human Responsibility in the Development and Use of Autonomous Weapon Systems: On Accountability for Violations of International Humanitarian Law Involving AWS

Abstract

It is undisputed that humans must retain responsibility for the development and use of autonomous weapon systems (AWS) because machines cannot be held accountable for violations of international humanitarian law (IHL). However, the critical question of how, in practice, humans would be held responsible for IHL violations involving AWS has not featured strongly in the policy debate on AWS. This report aims to offer a comprehensive analysis of that very question. This report explores how the two central frameworks structuring the ascription of responsibility for IHL violations—namely the rules governing state responsibility and individual criminal responsibility—apply to the development and use of AWS. The report aims to help policymakers (a) deepen their understanding of the conditions necessary to hold states and individuals accountable for IHL violations; (b) identify issues that would make IHL violations involving AWS development and use potentially difficult to discern, scrutinize and attribute; and (c) formulate policy measures that could help uphold respect for IHL and reduce challenges to holding actors legally responsible.