Technology

[Neil Renic is a Researcher at the Centre for Military Studies at the University of Copenhagen, focusing on the changing character and regulation of armed conflict, and emerging military technologies such as armed drones and autonomous weapons. Elke Schwarz is Reader in Political Theory at Queen Mary University London, specialising in ethics of war and ethics of technology with an emphasis on unmanned and autonomous...

[Francesco Paolo Levantino is a PhD Candidate in International and European Human Rights Law at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa, Italy).] Introducing “Emotion Recognition” Among many other innovations, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has paved the way for “inferring” human emotions by the automated analysis of physical, physiological or behavioural characteristics. The purported capabilities and potential applications of emotion recognition technology (ERT)...

[Gabrielle McIntyre is Chair of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, Co-cordinator of Africa Legal Aid’s Gender Mentoring Programme for International Judges; Independent international law consultant. Nicholas Vialle is a Pro Bono Lawyer (human rights, refugee and migration law), Australia; Independent international human rights law consultant.] This brings us to the second issue concerning the development of AI which may raise issues...

[Gabrielle McIntyre is Chair of Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, Co-cordinator of Africa Legal Aid’s Gender Mentoring Programme for International Judges; Independent international law consultant. Nicholas Vialle is a Pro Bono Lawyer (human rights, refugee and migration law), Australia; Independent international human rights law consultant.] The explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and corresponding evidence of significant efficiencies and innovation in...

[Sara (Meg) Davis is Professor of Digital Health and Rights at University of Warwick and an Associated Researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute.] In drafting her report to the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur drew in part on research conducted by a consultant, Patty Skuster, who the author supervised at the Geneva Graduate institute.  At a critical moment in the...

[Dr. Elisabeth Hoffberger-Pippanis associate at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) with a research focus on biological and chemical weapons within the CBWNet Project as well as AI-enabled technology in the military domain. Prior to joining PRIF, she was researcher and head of project of “iPRAW”, the International Panel on the Regulation of Autonomous Weapons, a project funded by the...

["Abhijeet Shrivastava and Rudraksh Lakra are fifth-year law students at Jindal Global Law School, India.] Introduction There is now little controversy in asserting that existing international law applies in cyberspace. The more important question is how existing norms can adapt to this new terrain and effectively regulate cyber operations. Importantly, there are also tremendous difficulties in establishing the attribution of harmful cyber operations to States....

[Dr. Marta Bo is an Associate Senior Researcher on emerging military technologies at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Researcher in Public International Law at the University of Amsterdam- Asser Institute and Research Fellow at the Geneva Graduate Institute.] To hold an individual criminally responsible for committing an unlawful attack, it must be established that they launched the attack with some...

Open source investigation (OSINT) methods have become frequently used by international courts, human rights fact-finding bodies, and other non-governmental organisations. Though OSINT remains a vital tool for increasing accountability for human rights violations and international crimes, it still has its issues with regards to fairness, equality, and diversity (both in terms of those working in the field and in terms...

[Santiago Vargas Niño, LL.M. is an independent legal consultant and lecturer in international protection of human rights at Los Andes University in Bogotá D.C., Colombia.] Introduction Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion offers an unexpected opportunity to reflect upon the future of warfare. Taking the first two episodes as my starting point, I will analyse the rules under which the UN has authorised its peace enforcement operations...

As part of my position at the University of Copenhagen's Centre for Military Studies, I have started a podcast entitled "Lex Ferenda: Conversations about Law and War." Here is the general description: This podcast involves monthly hour-long video interviews with experts whose work and practice focuses on how international law affects the conduct of military operations. Guests will normally be drawn...

[Archita Sharma and Chytanya S Agarwal are undergraduate students at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.] The Ukraine-Russia conflict has shown that international armed conflicts are not a distant reality in the 21st Century. The war continues to cause immense suffering and devastation, raising several international law concerns. The alleged use of thermobaric weapons by the Russian forces against Ukraine creates concerns...