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Human Oversight with Chinese Characteristics: Lethal Autonomous Weapons in the CCW GGE
3+ hour, 56+ min ago (134+ words) The Importance of the GGE China's Rhetoric of Meaningful Human Control Cumulative Criteria and IHL Accountability Gaps Dr Gerald Mako is a Research Affiliate at the Cambridge Central Asia Forum at Cambridge University. Articles of War'is a forum for professionals…...
The Regulation of Levées en Masse: Extending Participation to Diaspora Populations
2+ week, 12+ min ago (514+ words) This post briefly outlines the policy and legal arguments in favour of recognising non-resident citizens as legitimate participants in lev'es en masse, drawing on my previously published full-length article. A Primer on Lev'es en Masse The lev'e is unusual because…...
The Alleged Poisoning of Alexei Navalny: Why do Toxin Allegations Go to the Hague?
2+ week, 3+ day ago (383+ words) The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention The February 2026 allegations concern the use of a toxin, which the international community has long considered abhorrent and taboo. In modern international law, the most important instrument explicitly referencing and prohibiting toxins is the…...
Legal Accountability for AI-Driven Autonomous Weapons
2+ week, 4+ day ago (175+ words) The Legality of Autonomous Weapons The Background of AI-Driven Autonomous Weapons Systems These strains appear most clearly in the three core principles. The principle of distinction forbids attacks that cannot reliably distinguish military objectives from civilians and civilian objects, which,…...
When Red Lines Cross Blue Lines: Cyber Attacks on Poland’s Water Infrastructure – Part II
3+ week, 4+ hour ago (284+ words) Even when the target qualifies as a military objective, the proportionality rule prohibits attacks expected to cause incidental civilian harm that would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated. For water systems, proportionality cannot be…...
When Red Lines Cross Blue Lines: Cyber Attacks on Poland’s Water Infrastructure – Part I
3+ week, 4+ day ago (193+ words) Cyber Attacks on Water Infrastructure Recent cyber intrusions in Poland demonstrate how readily hostile actors may reach and manipulate water systems, and how quickly online access can produce effects. Recent Attacks in Poland Prohibition on Spreading Terror Szymon Skalski is…...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – African Traditions and the Preservation of Humanity during Warfare
1+ mon, 2+ day ago (321+ words) Editor's note: The following post highlights a'chapter that appears in Samuel White's fourth edited volume of'Laws of Yesterday's Wars'published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White's introductory post. Our chapter goes on to consider…...
Laws of Yesterday’s Wars Symposium – Hittite Laws of War
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (182+ words) Editor's note: The following post highlights a'chapter that appears in Samuel White's fourth edited volume of'Laws of Yesterday's Wars'published with Brill. For a general introduction to the series, see Dr Samuel White's introductory post. Importantly, the chapter does not idealise…...
How Lessons Learned from the CCW Can Help Guide the Regulation of AWS
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (987+ words) The CCW's architecture is often misunderstood as a grab bag of narrow prohibitions. This is not the case. In reality, the CCW reflects a disciplined legal method of identifying a weapon characteristic that tends toward unlawful effects and then codifying…...
Of Evolving Belligerent Occupation Law: Old “Hague” Occupation and New “Geneva” Occupation
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (374+ words) For years, the legal status of so-called "functional occupation" was unclear in international humanitarian law (IHL) (see, e.g., this 2012 work by Zwanenburg, Bothe, and Sass'li). In 2024, however, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) adopted a new take on occupation, paving the…...