Event information

27 November 2019, 18:00-19:30

Downloads

Flyer >

Legal Review of New Weapons, Means and Methods of Warfare

Military Briefings

A Royal Air Force Reaper RPAS (Remotely Piloted Air System) at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. A Royal Air Force Reaper RPAS (Remotely Piloted Air System) at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.

Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention obliges states to determine, in the study, development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon, means or method of warfare, whether its employment would be prohibited by international law.

Bearing in mind that new technologies are developed and presented to the public every day, the field of military technology undergoes the same exponential growth. These circumstances render the legal review of new weapons more complex and difficult. Cyberspace, increasing autonomy but also the growing connections between different systems on the battlefield pose new challenges to the legal review of a weapon.

This Military Briefing will address this issue from a practical perspective.

Speaker

Dr Mirco Anderegg is the Acting Head of International Law in the Swiss Armed Forces Staff. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Fribourg and the rank of Major. He advises the Swiss armed forces on issues of international law, particularly international humanitarian law and is responsible for the legal review of new weapons. In addition, Dr Anderegg is also the current President of the Swiss Society for Military Law and the Law of War.

Audience

This Military Briefing is primarily open to Geneva Academy’s students, who will be prioritized in the allocation of seats. External participants are also welcome provided there remains adequate seating.

About the Military Briefings

The Military Briefings are a unique series of events relating to military institutions and the law. They aim to improve our students’ knowledge of military actors and operations and build bridges between the military and civilian worlds.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

Geneva Academy Graduation 2024 News

Outstanding Students Recognised for Academic Excellence at Graduation Ceremony

30 October 2024

At the graduation ceremony, four academic papers are honoured with distinguished prizes that acknowledge outstanding academic achievements.

Read more

Geneva Academy Graduation 2024 News

Celebrating Commitment and Hope for the Future at the Geneva Academy Graduation

5 November 2024

At our recent graduation ceremony, 104 students from our masters programs were honoured in the presence of faculty, staff, friends and family.

Read more

Event

Strengths and Challenges of Inter-State Applications Before the European Court of Human Rights

12 May 2025, 18:30-20:00

In this Geneva Academy Talk Judge Lətif Hüseynov will discuss the challenges of inter-State cases under the ECHR, especially amid rising conflict-related applications.

Read more

Afghanistan, Parwan detention facility. Inside a room where detainees of the prison, separated by an acrylic glass, are allowed to meet with their families a couple of times per year with the help of the ICRC employees who facilitate the programme. Short Course

Preventing and Combating Terrorism

24 April - 13 May 2025

This online short course discusses the extent to which states may limit and/or derogate from their international human rights obligations in order to prevent and counter-terrorism and thus protect persons under their jurisdiction.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

A destroyed camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, Project

Understanding the Relationship between Conflict, Security and the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

Started in May 2023

This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.

Read more

Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Sending Up a Flare: Autonomous Weapons Systems Proliferation Risks to Human Rights and International Security

published on August 2024

Leif Monnett

Read more

Cover of the 2023 Geneva Academy Annual Report Publication

Annual Report 2023

published on July 2024

Read more