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

News

New Podcast: The Geneva Conventions on Trial

21 November 2024

A new episode of our podcast 'In and Around War(s)' with the theme 'The Geneva Conventions on Trial' has just been released.

Read more

Warzone Event

Advanced IHL Seminar for Academics and Policymakers

25-29 August 2025, 09:00-17:30

Co-hosted with the ICRC, this event aims to enhance the capacity of academics to teach and research international humanitarian law, while also equipping policymakers with an in-depth understanding of ongoing legal debates.

Read more

Event

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

22 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

Neutrotechology Project

Neurotechnology and Human Rights

Started in August 2023

This project addresses the human rights implications stemming from the development of neurotechnology for commercial, non-therapeutic ends, and is based on a partnership between the Geneva Academy, the Geneva University Neurocentre and the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee. 

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