Research On International Law Issues Of Autonomous Weapon System

With the continuous inprovement of autonomy of weapons,more and more autonomous weapon system appears on the battlefield.It can independently select targets and launch attacks without human intervention.The development of autonomous weapon systems means that decisions on the use of force on the battlefield may increasingly be made without human intervention or even entirely by machines itself.This characteristic not only brings about changes in weapons and equipment,war theory and mode of operation,but also changes in the balance of national forces.It will also bring far-reaching impact on international security and pose a profound challenge to the existing international law system.It is urgent for the international community to research and consider how to regulate autonomous weapon system.Because of the current situation,China should have a comprehensive and profound understanding of its own autonomous weapon system and make corresponding preparations.This article is divided into eight parts.The introduction expounds the necessity,the research situation and the research method of the autonomous weapon system at home and abroad.The first chapter mainly discusses how to define the terminology of the autonomous weapon system.Based on the analysis and evaluation of the existing terminology definition,this paper defines the autonomous weapon system from a law of armed conflict perspective:Based on artificial intelligence,the autonomous weapon system has autonomy in key functions and can independently select targets and launch attacks without human intervention.Artificial intelligence is its technical basis,autonomy is its core characteristic,and weapon system is its category.At present,missile defense systems,sentry robots and unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)with autonomous capabilities have been used in many countries' active-duty equipment.In the future,the autonomous weapon system will be deployed in expanding space and its level of intelligence will continue to be improved.The unceasing improvement of the autonomy capability of weapons constantly impacts the existing rules of the use of force and increases the difficulty of arms control.The sense of distance security brought about by the "isolation factor" of the autonomous weapon system lowers the threshold for war;the technological advantage makes the cost of attack less than defense,and opens up the possibility of pre-emptive and preventive attack by the countries who possess this technology.The technology diffuse easily and will increase the difficulty of arms control.In the foreseeable future,it will trigger some changes in the balance of national power and bring far-reaching impact on international security.It is necessary and urgent to regulate autonomous weaponsystem.The second chapter mainly cards the existing legal system of which regulate the independent weapon system,including international law and domestic law.There is no special treaty to regulate the autonomous weapon system.The rules and principles which existing in international law are applicable to autonomous weapon system.However,most of these international law documents have only made principled provisions,which are not very pertinent.Nowadays,there are only Countries the United States and the United Kingdom constituting legal document directly regulating the autonomous weapon system at the national level.The third chapter mainly discusses the challenge of the autonomous weapon system to the law of armed conflict.From the perspective of weapons control law,although there is no specific treaty prohibiting or restricting autonomous weapons systems.But this does not mean that the legitimacy of the autonomous weapon system is not bound by the relevant rules.As a weapon platform,autonomous weapon system can't carry weapons that are prohibited or restricted by existing conventions under any circumstances.From the perspective of the operational behavior law,although the autonomous weapon system is good at qualitative analysis,but it has no situational awareness and ability to battlefield environment,the use of autonomous weapon system in actual combat will pose a greater challenge to the principle of distinction,the principle of proportionality and preventive measures.At the same time,leaving the decision-making power which use lethal force to kill human to the autonomous weapon system is contrary to the spirit of "humanitarian principles" and "public conscience" by the Martens clause.The fourth chapter mainly discusses the responsibility of abusing the autonomous weapon system.The autonomous decision-making ability of the autonomous weapon system will upgrade the passive military equipment to the active fighter,which will also lead to the dilemma of responsibility.There are both technical and legal factors leading to this dilemma.In the future intelligent warfare,no matter how highly intelligent the battle robot system is,man as the dominant factor in the war has never changed,the only change is the way of battlefield cooperation between man and battle robot.In order to avoid the misunderstanding of personifying the autonomous weapon system,within the existing framework of international law,individual responsibility and state responsibility are the responsibility for the violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by using the autonomous weapon system.The fifth chapter mainly studies how to improve the international law regulation mechanism of the autonomous weapon system.At present,scholars and countries have different attitudes towards the international regulation of autonomous weapon system based on their own different interests and values.Some argue that the development and use of autonomous weapon system need be prohibited by establishing prior legislation for new treaties,while others argue that the regulation of autonomous weapons systems can be solved by restricting the specific circumstances and mandates of the use of autonomous weapons systems without special legislation.Globalization accelerates the application of high-tech weapons,promoting the general attention of the national society to the autonomous weapon system is the basis of regulation;grasping the dynamic balance between military necessity and humanitarian requirements is the legislative essentials;establishing and improving the legal review mechanism of new weapons in various countries is the key link.Constructing a system to regulate autonomous weapon system should take prevention as the leading factor,security as the core and ethics as the procursor factor.In legislation,the two-step model of soft law-treaty is adopted,and the military development of autonomous weapon system is restricted by different levels.The sixth chapter mainly discusses the autonomous weapon system and China.In today's global integration,the tide of intelligent military revolution brought by military artificial intelligence weapons is both an opportunity and a challenge for China.China should actively meet the external challenges it brings,strengthen the construction of intelligent national defense,and seize the commanding heights of national defense science and technology.At the same time,as a responsible country,China should also actively participate in the process of international regulation of autonomous weapons system,and actively promote relevant arms control negotiations and institutional construction on the basis of international cooperation and improve relevant legislation under overall planning.The conclusion is that the development of autonomous weapon system is irresistible and it is unwise to completely prohibit or suspend its development and use in a short period by legislation.We can formulate the behavior norm of soft law nature through intergovernmental dialogue,and when the time is ripe,we can make the treaty in the form of combination of restriction type and restriction activity type to regulate.