6. Legal review
(a) In the study, development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon, means or method of warfare, it must, in accordance with the obligations of states under international law, be determined whether their use/employment is prohibited by international law in some or all circumstances. In particular, with regard to legal reviews, Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions establishes the obligation to determine in the study, development, acquisition, or adoption of a new weapon, whether the employment of such a weapon would be prohibited by international law.
(b) It is important to conduct a legal review concerning the study, development, acquisition, adoption, and employment of weapon systems using emerging technologies in the area of AWS in determining whether they are prohibited by international law that is applicable to the country concerned.
(c) On the other hand, the specific means of conducting legal reviews are left to each country. Therefore, Japan considers that it would be useful to states establishing their own domestic systems to share guidelines and good practices regarding the matters to be considered at the time of conducting a legal review, as well as to identify risks and their mitigation measures that could be considered at each stage of design, development, testing, and deployment.
Working paper submitted by Japan to the United Nations on emerging technologies in the area of Lethal Autonomous Weapon systems (LAWS) (24 May 2024) 7–8
