Background
Under the law of armed conflict (international humanitarian law), the right of parties to an armed conflict to choose means and methods of warfare is not unlimited. States have placed constraints on this choice by agreeing to prohibit or limit the use of particular categories of weapons, and by developing general rules that prohibit the use of weapons, means and methods of warfare that have certain effects.
An important mechanism for implementing these rules at the national level is the review of new weapons, means or methods of warfare to determine whether they can be used in compliance with States’ obligations under international law—‘legal review’ for short. These legal reviews can be part of a State’s general efforts to ensure the effective implementation of its law of armed conflict obligations. States party to Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions have a specific obligation to undertake legal reviews under Article 36 of that Protocol:
In the study, development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon, means or method of warfare, a High Contracting Party is under an obligation to determine whether its employment would, in some or all circumstances, be prohibited by this Protocol or by any other rule of international law applicable to the High Contracting Party.
The Portal
Approximately 20 States have shared publicly details about their national legal review procedures and practices. These and other States have made public statements about the nature, value and limitations of the legal review process.
We have developed an online portal on legal reviews to provide transparency of national policies and strategies, share information of existing practice and lessons learned with a focus on new and emerging technologies.
