Technological innovations and the changing character of warfare: the significance of the 1949 Geneva Conventions seventy years on

Seventy years after the adoption of the four Geneva Conventions on 12 August 1949 the changing character of warfare is influenced by, among other things, technological innovations such as artificial intelligence and robotics. States are integrating new technologies into the military sphere for both defensive and offensive capabilities. This impacts on military doctrines, weaponry, and operational strategies. Under the auspices of the 1980 UN Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects, the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems is currently deliberating on the legal and ethical issues regarding autonomous weapons, and whether new legally binding or non-legally binding rules should be established regarding their use, restriction, or prohibition. In this context, it is worth reviewing the role and significance of Geneva law provisions in relation to technological innovations in methods and means of warfare.