Research On International Law Regulation Of Lethal Autonomous Weapons System

Since the vigorous development of artificial intelligence technology,it has been applied in various fields and injected new vitality into the development of the world economy.At the same time,artificial intelligence has been gradually applied to the military field,and its deep integration with weapons and equipment has spawned many advanced weapon types,such as automatic weapons,semi-autonomous weapons and so on.According to experts,if technology is not restricted,lethal autonomous weapons will be available in the near future.The ethical,legal and arms control problems caused by autonomous weapons are gradually emerging.Should the decision of human life be transferred to machines? Is the existence of autonomous weapons humanitarian? How to guarantee the human dignity and value of life? How to regulate the whole process of R & D,test and deployment of autonomous weapons by legal means? How to bear the legal responsibility for the damage caused by autonomous weapons to civilians? Many problems have made the whole international community aware of the serious mismatch between the existing legal regulations and the speed of scientific and technological development.This paper focuses on the existing problems in the application of autonomous weapons and their causes.At the same time,it points out a possible solution on the legal level,and puts forward several strategic suggestions for China in the process of autonomous weapons research.Up to now,more than 200 countries have clearly expressed their opposition to the development and application of LAWS,believing that it violates humanitarian principles and breaks through the bottom line of human morality.The reason is not difficult to understand the current concerns of the opposition countries.First,there are still bottlenecks in the technology of autonomous weapons,which can only distinguish between people and objects,but not between fighters and civilians.Some experts believe that this technical defect will make autonomous weapons unable to comply with the principle of distinction in the war law.The attack of autonomous weapons is based on the results of its own analysis of the local situation at that time,and whether the judgment of autonomous weapons can meet the proportionality in the war law needs to be further proved.Secondly,there is no specific law or treaty on autonomous weapons,and the legal regulation and liability for damage consequences of autonomous weapons are still in a blank stage.Some experts advocated the application of the Martens clause,and believed that autonomous weapons should meet the requirements of "humanitarian principles" and "public conscience".But even if the status of the Martens clause as a customary international law is recognized,it is difficult to support its main position as the legal regulation of independent weapons because of its generality and supplement.Another part of scholars pointed out that the article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention should be applied to regulate autonomous weapons,and require states to review their own weapons and ensure that they meet the requirements of the war law for weapons.The lack of targeted treaties regulating autonomous weapons and the existence of only applicable to the Contracting States restrict the application of Article 36.Third,according to the existing LAWS and treaties,it is difficult to find a fully qualified subject to be responsible for the damage caused by autonomous weapons in practice.Due to the particularity of autonomous weapons,it is difficult to determine the responsibility of soldiers and commanders according to the reasoning ideas of international criminal cases in the past;the responsibility of weapon manufacturers is also difficult to achieve due to the jurisdiction and litigation cost of transnational litigation;the responsibility of the state as the main body is stipulated in the Geneva Convention and the draft articles on state responsibility,but it has been issued since then From the perspective of historical events,countries are not willing to admit their crimes against international humanitarianism.The regulation of autonomous weapons will ultimately fall into the construction of the treaty.According to the current national practice and conference process,the seminar on the treaty continues on the CCW platform.In the follow-up treaty design,firstly,it is necessary to clarify the definition or characteristics of autonomous weapons,which is the basis for the treaty to continue;secondly,incorporate the four principles of the law of war into the treaty as the basic principles;thirdly,regulate the legitimate application of autonomous weapons,set up a negative list to restrict the use of completely autonomous weapons;finally,incorporate the responsibility system into the treaty and establish the attribution principle And the subject of responsibility.