States and some organisations have expressed their views about the utility, purpose, scope and process of the legal review of weapons in various different contexts. Some of these views have been recorded domestic documents, such as military manuals on the law of armed conflict. Increasingly, however, States and organisations have articulated their positions in a range of international fora, either through written submissions or oral interventions.
This database compiles and organises publicly expressed views in relation to legal reviews, without prejudice to their relative significance or effect (for example, in terms of the development of customary international law). The database aims to comprehensively reflect the views of states but only covers the positions of a small number of selected organisations.
This database currently contains 379 positions and is continuously updated. Any corrections, or suggestions to add material, are welcome.
2018
Statement by Germany
Legal/Ethical Issues […] Germany remains fully committed to the implementation of Article 36 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions (Protocol I), concerning the study, development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon, means or method of warfare. As previously stated, in 2016 Germany …
Statement by Germany
Only weapons that are operated in compliance with IHL are acceptable means of warfare. This might, as it is widely agreed on, only be assured as long as humans retain the sufficient control, at least over the critical functions of the weapons they operate, to …