Over the last decades, technological progress has been significantly influencing the conduct of military operations. Conventional means and methods of warfare are now more than ever being replaced by new technologies. These developments have caused man to start withdrawing from areas of active hostilities. Consequently, the development of autonomous weapons systems is followed by various moral considerations regarding the future use of such killer robots and poses numerous legal questions, especially about the legality of autonomous weapons systems under international law. An autonomous weapons system is defined as any weapon system with autonomy in its critical functions. It is not prohibited per se under international law, however, the parties to the conflict are allowed to employ it only in a matter consistent with the rules of international law. Due to requirements posed by the rules governing the conduct of hostilities, the international humanitarian law de facto greatly limits circumstances in which autonomous weapons systems may be engaged. Even more stringent requirements under the international human rights law reduce the capability of the parties to the conflict to legally employ an autonomous weapons system to only a handful of possible situations. As it has already been confirmed that the international humanitarian law continues to apply fully to autonomous weapons systems, it is now on the international community to seek a common understanding of challenges posed by the use of autonomous weapons systems and to address them accordingly.
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