It is Australia’s view that how a LAWS might be employed is an essential part of conducting an article 36 review for compliance with IHL. This also involves understanding how militaries undertake operations and the targeting process. A few States present have publically disclosed this process in general terms, including Australia. It is for this reason that there may be differing views on the potentially legality of LAWS, as some of the debate is occurring in too broad a context as to what may or may not be a LAWS and how any such weapon system might be employed. As Dr Melzer noted, if a weapon system was inherently unpredictable, it is hard to imagine the military rationale for using such a weapon. And I might add that a weapon, like the person who employs it, is likely to be used in a constrained fashion. It is in this context that Australia conducts its weapon reviews.
Australian intervention on Legal Aspects (14 May 2014)
