[22] It is an obligation of States to ensure that their weapons comply with the rules and principles of international law, including [IHL]. New technologies have to comply with international law as well. Article 36 of Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 clearly states that when a High Contracting Party studies, develops or acquires or adopts a new weapon, means or method of warfare, it has an obligation to determine whether its use would, under certain conditions or in all circumstances, be prohibited by that Protocol or by any other rules of international law applicable to that High Contracting Party.
[23] However, national reviews of new weapons are not, in themselves, a sufficient measure to regulate autonomous weapons. National reviews should be understood as a complement to a specific new international standard that is necessary for this new category of weapons. The lack of uniformity of national measures for the review of these new standards is another element that reinforces the need for a specific international rule specific to autonomous weapons
