… Lastly, we wish to address the issue of national weapon reviews, also referred to as Article 36 weapon reviews. The objective of these reviews is explicitly mentioned in our last years guiding principles. There seems to be convergence of views on the importance and the merits, but also limitations of article 36. Weapon reviews constitute a critical national implementation mechanism to establish the legality of a weapon, means or method of warfare. However, article 36 itself does not give a clear legal standard, it merely assesses if — from a national perspective — a certain weapon development would be permitted under international law. Due to military secrecy and military development, which is usually seeking for a competitive advantage, concrete results and national internal reasoning of a specific article 36 review are usually not shared with the broader international community.
Statement by Austria under agenda item 5(a): an exploration of the potential challenges (26 March 2019)
