Application of Technologies on International Law - Essay Example

INTERNATIONAL LAW FINAL Introduction The international law of war emerged from two prominent sources which include theunwritten general rules and the specificity of the law of war. The unwritten general laws is commonly known as the customary international law and the specificity law of war is known as conventional international law which is attributed to the collection of various codified rules. The objective of this paper is to focus on emergence of technology and its application on international law of war. The emerging technologies mainly include the directed energy weapons, cyber weapons such as stuxnet, lethal autonomous robot and directed energy weapons. The current international law of war developed over centuries. In current era it undertook various technological change and transformation. Discussion Application of technologies on international law Technology plays an important role in resolving the armed conflict. The future developments in the technology enabled the attacks to be prosecuted automatically, autonomously, potentially and remotely (Saxon, 2013). The emergence in technology assists in identifying the distinction between the hostilities and armed forces personnel. The law of armed conflict must be relevant and equally applicable to all armed conflicts. New weapons are already in use for example for remote attacks and for the employment of sponsors and data links and related capabilities for supporting unmanned technology. Unmanned platform technologies raise issues about whether international law is lying behind the ethical debate as to the acceptance of the unmanned operations. Military technology is variable in nature; therefore it changes due to the technological and strategic innovation. The more efficient is the application of military technology, the larger share of joint revenue will be generated by the state which invests an additional unit in military capital required for holding the investment in state military capital constantly. The internet based technology facilitates in the negotiation of treaty based regimes and facilitates the international legal machinery to function efficiently and effectively. The application of Drone technology facilitated the armed force to adopt precautionary measures for facing war and attacks. The growing surveillance capability of the Drone technology is considered as the powerful tool for controlling persons and territories. It will provide greater transparency to resolve the armed conflicts. It will become more robotized. This autonomous weapon system raises many questions not withstanding with the weapon aspects. The surveillance benefit of the robotized Drones directly leads to the argument in dealing with the obligations. This technology mainly deals with the application of the laws of war in the armed conflicts which are characterized by total visibility, since Drone technology not only performs the role of the game changer but it also triggers obligations. The advantage of the application of the Drone technology is that it can be quickly deployed ahead of an attack. It is mainly related with the sophisticated weapon system that exercises control over individuals and territories (Cortright, Fairhurst & Wall, 2015). Controversies of Drone technology and international law The legal controversies associated with the application of Drone technology in the armed conflicts mainly arises from the disputed lawfulness of signature and targeted killings including sovereignty and constitutional issues .It increases the risk, chivalry and cost. The software used is not on the verge of improvement and it is not able to fulfill or perform its responsibility effectively and efficiently as expected. The US and UK government stated that they have not decided any future plan for improvement in its technology. Troops are safe when the unmanned technology is applied but it is not relevant that these unmanned technologies are safe for the civilians in war zones (Solomou & Rylatt, 2015). Number of issues or problems arising from the use of Drone technology in war includes the issues related to the scope of armed conflict that might be targeted and the implications of the legal policy who conducts the targeting. Most of the Drone pilots grew up by playing computer games. The game does not assume the role of the soldier on the battlefield to eliminate the enemy. When US army decides to recruit the Drone operator, it is in search of those people who grew up playing these types of games. The problem associated with it is that the Drone operator does not experience the physical side of the war and it controls its operation far away from the place where the war takes place (Sterio, 2012). Drone technology is not mentioned in weapon or other legal instruments of humanitarian law. The use of weapon system mainly includes the armed Drones in armed conflicts which are subject to the rules of international humanitarian law. The parties to conflict must clearly distinguish between the civilian objects and military objectives and between civilians and combatants. It must adopt all precautionary measures to protect the infrastructure and civilian population. Drones cannot carry restricted weapons such as biological or chemical agents. On the other hand on the basis of the humanitarian law, any weapon which is capable of facing the attacks and avoiding the loss of civilian’s life; damages to civilian objects and injury to the civilians must be given more preference over the weapons (Jin, 2008). Benefits of Drone technology in International law Drone technology is widely used by the countries during the time of war. It is remote controlled aircraft that is armed with missiles and bombs. During the attack of the world trade center which took place on 28 September 2001 and subsequent to the War on terror, United States applied Drone technology to kill its targeted terrorist in Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Yemen and other countries. It facilitates in saving lives of the people during the time of war. It can be positioned to survey the damages caused due to the terrorist attack. It supports the enforcement of law. Although this technology is considered as the most critical and crucial technology used for controversial military applications, but the perception of the people towards the use of this technology is likely to change with the passage of time with its adoption in the commercial market. The easy accessibility, cost and safety of this technology provides a unique capability which is not attainable for many companies. The benefit or advantage provided through the application of this technology will increase with the course of time. Drone technology must comply with the international law The application of Drone technology is required to comply with the international law. The use of this technology raised several issues and concerns related to increasing humanitarian, legal and other issues. It is observed that all Drones are not armed used for the purpose of war; there are Drones that are unarmed use for the civilian purposes. The unarmed Drones are mostly used for saving the lives of the civilians and collect important for relieving the people affected by the natural disaster. In order to apply this technology for encountering the attacks it is expected to comply with the international law of war. Conclusion The above discussion on application and improvement of Drone technology justified the emergence and change in technology in the international war. Although Drone technology is critical and it includes various limitations in its applications, but the benefits provided by this technology overcomes the drawbacks of this technology. United States used this technology during the time of the attack of world Trade center. The use of Drone technology by the civilians is increasing with the due course of time. It can be applied b y all countries during the time of war as it complies with the international law of war. References Cortright, D., Fairhurst, R. & Wall, K. (2015). Drones and the future of armed conflict. London: University of Chicago Press. Jin, X. (2008). The evolution of international laws of war. The Chinese Journal of International Politics.2(2).171-203. Saxon, D. (2013). International humanitarian law and the changing technology of war. Netherland: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Solomou, A. & Rylatt, J.W. (2015). The Oxford handbook of the use of force in international law. New York: OUP Oxford. Sterio, M. (2012). The United States’ use of Drones in the war on terror. Journal of International Law. 45(1). 201-205. Read More