New Zealand, Military Manual (2019)

Section 4 – Weapons and Munitions Review

7.4.1 Members of the NZDF responsible for the development, acquisition or bringing into service of weapons and munitions for use by the NZDF are to ensure that those weapons and munitions comply with LOAC. As early as possible in the project, the programme sponsor is to ensure that a legal review of the weapon or munition is obtained from the Director of Defence Legal Services (D DLS) in order to ensure LOAC compliance.19 The following information is to be provided to D DLS:

  1. Full description of the weapon or munition, including trade names or other names by which it is known.
  2. Name and address of manufacturer(s).
  3. Reason for acquiring.
  4. Intended and likely use of the weapon or munition.
  5. General technical data available on the weapon or munition.
  6. Intended and likely effect of the weapon or munition on materiel and personnel against which it is used, including the results of ballistic and other scientific analysis (if any).
  7. Reports (if any) on the nature of injuries that have been encountered from use of the weapon or munition.
  8. Use by other armed forces or by agencies in New Zealand or overseas.
  9. Any other information likely to be of relevance to the assessment of the legality of the weapon or munition.

7.4.2 The review is to identify NZDF’s obligations under Geneva Protocol I, other relevant treaties and customary international law and is to consider the use of the weapon in all likely operational environments. Vetting of munitions is to include, where appropriate, regard to technical measures to minimise the occurrence of ERW.20 Likely developments in LOAC are also to be considered.21

7.4.3 The results of all reviews are to be provided to the Chief of Defence Force (CDF) as well as the member of the NZDF responsible for the acquisition. No weapon or munition is to be developed, acquired or brought into service if it does not pass D DLS review.

7.4.4 Use of the weapon or munition by other States and reviews of legality conducted by those States are to be taken into account. However, given the disparate treaty obligations and understandings amongst States, legality under New Zealand’s obligations is to be determinative.

7.4.5 By this process, members of the NZDF can be confident that all weapons and munitions issued for their use are lawful.

Newly developing weapons

7.4.6 The means of warfare are not unlimited; developing technologies produce the possibility of means of warfare as yet not known.22 The principles of LOAC apply to all potential technology available for military use, including:

  1. electromagnetic and radiation weapons;
  2. kinetic energy and hypervelocity weapons;
  3. laser weapons (blinding laser weapons are already prohibited);23
  4. particle beam weapons;
  5. sound weapons;
  6. explosive proximity weapons;
  7. robotic weapons; and
  8. weapons with artificial intelligence.

19 Geneva Protocol I art 36: “In the study, development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon, means or method of warfare, a High Contracting Party is under an obligation to determine whether its employment would, in some or all circumstances, be prohibited by this Protocol or by any other rule of international law applicable to the High Contracting Party.”

20 See Conventional Weapons Protocol V art 9 and Technical Annex Part 3. Generic preventative measures include production processes designed to achieve the greatest reliability of munitions and subject to certified quality control measures. Internationally recognised quality assurance standards should be used with live-firing acceptance testing over a range of conditions or other validation procedures. High reliability standards should be required in the course of explosive ordnance transactions and transfers.

21 An international trend towards the prohibition of a particular weapon or munition may be discernible before a comprehensive ban comes into effect.

22 Nuclear Weapons Opinion at [86]: LOAC applies to all forms of warfare and to all kinds of weapons, those of the past, those of the present and those of the future.

23 See Section 6.

New Zealand Defence Force, DM 69: Manual of Armed Forces Law – Volume 4: Law of Armed Conflict (2nd ed, 8 January 2019) paras 7.4.1–7.46