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International Criminal Responsibility for War Crimes Committed Through Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) | ||
| AL-Qadisiya Journal For Law and Political Sciences | ||
| Article 18, Volume 17, Issue: 1 part 2, June 2026, Pages 399-426 PDF (640.14 K) | ||
| Document Type: Research Paper | ||
| DOI: 10.63677/jqlap.2026.171867.1619 | ||
| Author | ||
| Nihal Hassan Ibrahim* | ||
| Al-Farahidi University / College of Law | ||
| Abstract | ||
| This study examines the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the military field and the resulting emergence of "lethal autonomous weapons" (LAWS), described as the "third revolution in the art of war." These systems have become a focal point of international competition and a means to impose strategic dominance. From this perspective, the study aims to develop a proposed legal framework for holding accountable the human actors involved in the weapon's lifecycle—programmers, manufacturers, and commanders—to ensure they do not escape punishment under the pretext of technological autonomy. This framework also seeks to uphold humanitarian principles amidst the increasing trend toward the "automation" of armed conflicts. The study concludes that the fundamental danger of these systems lies in their superior ability to automatically select and engage targets without direct human intervention. This poses a real dilemma for the rules of international humanitarian law, which are based on the human capacity to distinguish between military targets and civilians. The fundamental problem posed by these weapons extends beyond their combat effectiveness, reaching into the principle of individual criminal responsibility. As major international powers race to impose their dominance through these technologies, the international community finds itself facing a "legal vacuum." The direct physical link between the criminal act and the human perpetrator disappears, posing an existential challenge to the established rules of the Rome Statute: Who is held criminally liable for the use of AI-based weapons in war crimes? | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Autonomous weapons; artificial intelligence; international criminal responsibility; Rome Statute; war crimes | ||
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