Exploring the Impact of Modern Technology on the Transformations of Customary Norms in International Humanitarian Law
Corresponding Author(s) : Mohamed Ahmed Zakaria Shehata
مجلة القانون والتكنولوجيا ,
مجلد 6 عدد 1 (2026)
الملخص
This study analyzes how emerging technologies—i.e., autonomous weapons, drones, and cyber warfare—are transforming the development and application of customary norms in international humanitarian law (IHL). Long premised on uniform state practice and legal duty, the norms are increasingly challenged by digital and automated warfare. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical method to examine the legal and ethical dimensions of the integration of advanced technologies in armed conflict. It looks at whether current practice is generating new customary rules and how these developments affect the most significant IHL principles of distinction, proportionality, and accountability. The research, drawing on case studies, recent jurisprudence, and legal scholarship, hopes to contribute to our understanding of how international legal systems can evolve to uphold humanitarian protections in the age of technological change. The paper concludes with suggestions for legal reform as well as prospective interdisciplinary research.
تنزيل الاقتباسات
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- Henckaerts, J.-M., & Doswald-Beck, L. (2005). Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I: Rules. Cambridge University Press. Https://Www.Icrc.Org/.../Customary-International...’
- Vladyslav Lanovoy, ‘Customary International Law in the Reasoning of International Courts and Tribunals’ in Panos Merkouris, Jörg Kammerhofer and Noora Arajärvi (eds), The Theory, Practice, and Interpretation of Customary International Law (1st ed, Cambridge University Press 2022) <https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781009025416%23CN-bp-11/type/book_part> accessed 25 June 2025.
- Kristina Daugirdas, ‘International Organizations and the Creation of Customary International Law’ (2020) 31 European Journal of International Law 201.
- ICTY, Prosecutor v Tadić, Case No IT-94-1, Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 2 October 1995.
- Karl Zemanek, ‘RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES’ Encyclopedia of Disputes Installment 10 (Elsevier 1987) <https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444862419500920> accessed 4 February 2026.
- Nurilloev Shavkat Shukhrat Ugli, ‘THE FOUNDATIONS OF STATE RESPONSIBILITY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF KEY PRINCIPLES AND NORMS’ (2024) 1 European Journal of Contemporary Business Law & Technology: Cyber Law, Blockchain, and Legal Innovations 100.
- GA Bialyi, ‘On the Problem of Determining International Legal Responsibility in Public International Law’ [2024] Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 687.
- Karl Zemanek, ‘RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES’ Encyclopedia of Disputes Installment 10 (Elsevier 1987) <https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444862419500920> accessed 4 February 2026.
- GA Bialyi, ‘On the Problem of Determining International Legal Responsibility in Public International Law’ [2024] Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 687.
- Isabelle Côté, ‘Internal Migration and Resource Conflict: Evidence from Riau, Indonesia’ (2021) 7 Journal of Global Security Studies ogab025.
- Ioannis Kalpouzos, ‘Double Elevation: Autonomous Weapons and the Search for an Irreducible Law of War’ (2020) 33 Leiden Journal of International Law 289.
- Aimee Van Wynsberghe and Tina Comes, ‘Drones in Humanitarian Contexts, Robot Ethics, and the Human–Robot Interaction’ (2020) 22 Ethics and Information Technology 43.
- Michael Hallek, Barbara Eichhorst and Daniel Catovsky (eds), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (Springer International Publishing 2019) <http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-11392-6> accessed 25 June 2025.
- Ioannis Kalpouzos, ‘Double Elevation: Autonomous Weapons and the Search for an Irreducible Law of War’ (2020) 33 Leiden Journal of International Law 289.
- Isabelle Côté, ‘Internal Migration and Resource Conflict: Evidence from Riau, Indonesia’ (2021) 7 Journal of Global Security Studies ogab025.
- Aimee Van Wynsberghe and Tina Comes, ‘Drones in Humanitarian Contexts, Robot Ethics, and the Human–Robot Interaction’ (2020) 22 Ethics and Information Technology 43.
- Ian Stoner, ‘Barbarous Spectacle and General Massacre: A Defence of Gory Fictions’ (2020) 37 Journal of Applied Philosophy 511.
- Badreldin Hamad, ‘The Impact of Digital Technology on International Humanitarian Law: Ethical and Legal Implications of Autonomous Weapons Systems’ (2026) 4 European Journal of Law and Political Science 1.
- IV Zakharchuk, ‘Adapting International Law to the Challenges of New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and Their Regulation’ (2025) 3 Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 398.
- IV Zakharchuk, ‘Adapting International Law to the Challenges of New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and Their Regulation’ (2025) 3 Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 398.
- Badreldin Hamad, ‘The Impact of Digital Technology on International Humanitarian Law: Ethical and Legal Implications of Autonomous Weapons Systems’ (2026) 4 European Journal of Law and Political Science 1.
- Badreldin Hamad, ‘The Impact of Digital Technology on International Humanitarian Law: Ethical and Legal Implications of Autonomous Weapons Systems’ (2026) 4 European Journal of Law and Political Science 1.
- IV Zakharchuk, ‘Adapting International Law to the Challenges of New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and Their Regulation’ (2025) 3 Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 398.
- Laurent Gisel, Tilman Rodenhäuser and Knut Dörmann, ‘Twenty Years on: International Humanitarian Law and the Protection of Civilians against the Effects of Cyber Operations during Armed Conflicts’ (2020) 102 International Review of the Red Cross 287.
- Edward Hunter Christie and others, ‘Regulating Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: Exploring the Challenges of Explainability and Traceability’ (2024) 4 AI and Ethics 229.
- Evhen Tsybulenko and Aleksi Kajander, ‘Customary International Humanitarian Law and Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions: A Stopgap Regulator of Autonomous Weapons Systems?’ (2022) 12 TalTech Journal of European Studies 87.
- Agnieszka Szpak, ‘Artificial Intelligence and International Humanitarian Law in the Work of the Parties to the Conventional Weapons Convention: Lethal Autonomous Weapons’ in Michał Balcerzak and Julia Kapelańska-Pręgowska (eds), Artificial Intelligence and International Human Rights Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2024) <https://www.elgaronline.com/view/book/9781035337934/book-part-9781035337934-23.xml> accessed 25 June 2025.
- UNIDIR. (2021). The Regulation of Autonomous Weapons: A Legal and Policy Framework for the Future. Geneva.’
- Jonathan Kwik and Tom Van Engers, ‘Algorithmic Fog of War: When Lack of Transparency Violates the Law of Armed Conflict’ (2021) 2 Journal of Future Robot Life 43.
- Jonathan Kwik and Tom Van Engers, ‘Algorithmic Fog of War: When Lack of Transparency Violates the Law of Armed Conflict’ (2021) 2 Journal of Future Robot Life 43.
- Elliot Winter, ‘The Compatibility of Autonomous Weapons with the Principles of International Humanitarian Law’ (2022) 27 Journal of Conflict and Security Law 1.
- Iradhati Zahra and Diajeng Wulan Christianti, ‘THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW APPLICATION TO CYBER ATTACK: THE STATUS OF RULE 30 TALLINN MANUAL 1.0’ (2021) 5 Padjadjaran Journal of International Law 98.
- Iradhati Zahra and Diajeng Wulan Christianti, ‘THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW APPLICATION TO CYBER ATTACK: THE STATUS OF RULE 30 TALLINN MANUAL 1.0’ (2021) 5 Padjadjaran Journal of International Law 98.
- Elliot Winter, ‘The Compatibility of Autonomous Weapons with the Principles of International Humanitarian Law’ (2022) 27 Journal of Conflict and Security Law 1.
- Jonathan Kwik and Tom Van Engers, ‘Algorithmic Fog of War: When Lack of Transparency Violates the Law of Armed Conflict’ (2021) 2 Journal of Future Robot Life 43.
- Elliot Winter, ‘The Compatibility of Autonomous Weapons with the Principles of International Humanitarian Law’ (2022) 27 Journal of Conflict and Security Law 1.
- Yatish Ojha, ‘Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: Perspectives from International Humanitarian Law’ (2025) 6 Unity Journal 34.
- UNIDIR. (2021). The Regulation of Autonomous Weapons: A Legal and Policy Framework for the Future. Geneva.’
- UNIDIR. (2021). The Regulation of Autonomous Weapons: A Legal and Policy Framework for the Future. Geneva.’ (n 18).
المراجع
Henckaerts, J.-M., & Doswald-Beck, L. (2005). Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I: Rules. Cambridge University Press. Https://Www.Icrc.Org/.../Customary-International...’
Vladyslav Lanovoy, ‘Customary International Law in the Reasoning of International Courts and Tribunals’ in Panos Merkouris, Jörg Kammerhofer and Noora Arajärvi (eds), The Theory, Practice, and Interpretation of Customary International Law (1st ed, Cambridge University Press 2022) <https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781009025416%23CN-bp-11/type/book_part> accessed 25 June 2025.
Kristina Daugirdas, ‘International Organizations and the Creation of Customary International Law’ (2020) 31 European Journal of International Law 201.
ICTY, Prosecutor v Tadić, Case No IT-94-1, Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 2 October 1995.
Karl Zemanek, ‘RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES’ Encyclopedia of Disputes Installment 10 (Elsevier 1987) <https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444862419500920> accessed 4 February 2026.
Nurilloev Shavkat Shukhrat Ugli, ‘THE FOUNDATIONS OF STATE RESPONSIBILITY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF KEY PRINCIPLES AND NORMS’ (2024) 1 European Journal of Contemporary Business Law & Technology: Cyber Law, Blockchain, and Legal Innovations 100.
GA Bialyi, ‘On the Problem of Determining International Legal Responsibility in Public International Law’ [2024] Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 687.
Karl Zemanek, ‘RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES’ Encyclopedia of Disputes Installment 10 (Elsevier 1987) <https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444862419500920> accessed 4 February 2026.
GA Bialyi, ‘On the Problem of Determining International Legal Responsibility in Public International Law’ [2024] Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 687.
Isabelle Côté, ‘Internal Migration and Resource Conflict: Evidence from Riau, Indonesia’ (2021) 7 Journal of Global Security Studies ogab025.
Ioannis Kalpouzos, ‘Double Elevation: Autonomous Weapons and the Search for an Irreducible Law of War’ (2020) 33 Leiden Journal of International Law 289.
Aimee Van Wynsberghe and Tina Comes, ‘Drones in Humanitarian Contexts, Robot Ethics, and the Human–Robot Interaction’ (2020) 22 Ethics and Information Technology 43.
Michael Hallek, Barbara Eichhorst and Daniel Catovsky (eds), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (Springer International Publishing 2019) <http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-11392-6> accessed 25 June 2025.
Ioannis Kalpouzos, ‘Double Elevation: Autonomous Weapons and the Search for an Irreducible Law of War’ (2020) 33 Leiden Journal of International Law 289.
Isabelle Côté, ‘Internal Migration and Resource Conflict: Evidence from Riau, Indonesia’ (2021) 7 Journal of Global Security Studies ogab025.
Aimee Van Wynsberghe and Tina Comes, ‘Drones in Humanitarian Contexts, Robot Ethics, and the Human–Robot Interaction’ (2020) 22 Ethics and Information Technology 43.
Ian Stoner, ‘Barbarous Spectacle and General Massacre: A Defence of Gory Fictions’ (2020) 37 Journal of Applied Philosophy 511.
Badreldin Hamad, ‘The Impact of Digital Technology on International Humanitarian Law: Ethical and Legal Implications of Autonomous Weapons Systems’ (2026) 4 European Journal of Law and Political Science 1.
IV Zakharchuk, ‘Adapting International Law to the Challenges of New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and Their Regulation’ (2025) 3 Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 398.
IV Zakharchuk, ‘Adapting International Law to the Challenges of New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and Their Regulation’ (2025) 3 Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 398.
Badreldin Hamad, ‘The Impact of Digital Technology on International Humanitarian Law: Ethical and Legal Implications of Autonomous Weapons Systems’ (2026) 4 European Journal of Law and Political Science 1.
Badreldin Hamad, ‘The Impact of Digital Technology on International Humanitarian Law: Ethical and Legal Implications of Autonomous Weapons Systems’ (2026) 4 European Journal of Law and Political Science 1.
IV Zakharchuk, ‘Adapting International Law to the Challenges of New Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapon Systems, and Their Regulation’ (2025) 3 Analytical and Comparative Jurisprudence 398.
Laurent Gisel, Tilman Rodenhäuser and Knut Dörmann, ‘Twenty Years on: International Humanitarian Law and the Protection of Civilians against the Effects of Cyber Operations during Armed Conflicts’ (2020) 102 International Review of the Red Cross 287.
Edward Hunter Christie and others, ‘Regulating Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems: Exploring the Challenges of Explainability and Traceability’ (2024) 4 AI and Ethics 229.
Evhen Tsybulenko and Aleksi Kajander, ‘Customary International Humanitarian Law and Article 36 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions: A Stopgap Regulator of Autonomous Weapons Systems?’ (2022) 12 TalTech Journal of European Studies 87.
Agnieszka Szpak, ‘Artificial Intelligence and International Humanitarian Law in the Work of the Parties to the Conventional Weapons Convention: Lethal Autonomous Weapons’ in Michał Balcerzak and Julia Kapelańska-Pręgowska (eds), Artificial Intelligence and International Human Rights Law (Edward Elgar Publishing 2024) <https://www.elgaronline.com/view/book/9781035337934/book-part-9781035337934-23.xml> accessed 25 June 2025.
UNIDIR. (2021). The Regulation of Autonomous Weapons: A Legal and Policy Framework for the Future. Geneva.’
Jonathan Kwik and Tom Van Engers, ‘Algorithmic Fog of War: When Lack of Transparency Violates the Law of Armed Conflict’ (2021) 2 Journal of Future Robot Life 43.
Jonathan Kwik and Tom Van Engers, ‘Algorithmic Fog of War: When Lack of Transparency Violates the Law of Armed Conflict’ (2021) 2 Journal of Future Robot Life 43.
Elliot Winter, ‘The Compatibility of Autonomous Weapons with the Principles of International Humanitarian Law’ (2022) 27 Journal of Conflict and Security Law 1.
Iradhati Zahra and Diajeng Wulan Christianti, ‘THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW APPLICATION TO CYBER ATTACK: THE STATUS OF RULE 30 TALLINN MANUAL 1.0’ (2021) 5 Padjadjaran Journal of International Law 98.
Iradhati Zahra and Diajeng Wulan Christianti, ‘THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW APPLICATION TO CYBER ATTACK: THE STATUS OF RULE 30 TALLINN MANUAL 1.0’ (2021) 5 Padjadjaran Journal of International Law 98.
Elliot Winter, ‘The Compatibility of Autonomous Weapons with the Principles of International Humanitarian Law’ (2022) 27 Journal of Conflict and Security Law 1.
Jonathan Kwik and Tom Van Engers, ‘Algorithmic Fog of War: When Lack of Transparency Violates the Law of Armed Conflict’ (2021) 2 Journal of Future Robot Life 43.
Elliot Winter, ‘The Compatibility of Autonomous Weapons with the Principles of International Humanitarian Law’ (2022) 27 Journal of Conflict and Security Law 1.
Yatish Ojha, ‘Artificial Intelligence in Armed Conflict: Perspectives from International Humanitarian Law’ (2025) 6 Unity Journal 34.
UNIDIR. (2021). The Regulation of Autonomous Weapons: A Legal and Policy Framework for the Future. Geneva.’
UNIDIR. (2021). The Regulation of Autonomous Weapons: A Legal and Policy Framework for the Future. Geneva.’ (n 18).
