Intent in the Era of Mechanical Forces

Sammanfattning

The advent of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) introduces transformative, yet deeply problematic, complexities into modern warfare, particularly concerning the attribution of criminal responsibility under international criminal law. This thesis confronts the critical challenges these systems pose to the dolus specialis, the specific intent to destroy, requirement for the crime of genocide. It investigates whether human actors involved in the design, development, or deployment of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems can be held accountable for genocidal acts, despite their operational obscurities. The research first delineates the operational characteristics of these systems and the established legal framework governing genocide and its specific intent requirement under international criminal law. It then analyses how LAWS's technological attributes create significant evidentiary and conceptual hurdles. The thesis argues that while these hurdles are significant, they are not insurmountable. It argues that accountability for genocidal acts facilitated through laws can be maintained through a contextually appropriate adoption of the knowledge-based approach to dolus specialis. This approach, when complemented by the enforcement of heightened due diligence obligations across the weapons lifecycle, offers a viable pathway to accountability.