CYIL vol. 7 (2016)

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CYIL 7 ȍ2016Ȏ INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE USE OF ARMED DRONES…
Key words: armed drones, law enforcement, law of armed conflict, self-defence,
classification of conflicts, armed conflict.
On the Author: JUDr. PetraDitrichová-Ochmannová, Ph.D., works as legal advisor
in International Law Department, Ministry of Defence (MOD) Czech Republic.
This article is based on a presentation given during the XX. International Congress
“The Challenges in the Implementation of International Humanitarian Law” held
by the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War held in Prague
from 14–18 April 2015. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the
author and do not necessarily correspond with the official position of the MOD and
do not bind this institution in any way.
1. Introduction
In the past two decades we have witnessed a rise of a new means and method
of warfare. Armed drones, otherwise known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
or remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), are considered as one of the interesting new
weapons platforms.
As a matter of fact, there is not much difference in terms of the use of armed
drones and conventional manned aircraft. Therefore, drones do not entail or require
specific rules to be developed for their use. Under the law of armed conflict (LOAC)
armed drones currently do not representa prohibited means and method of warfare.1
Drones are highly valued by the military because they allow an individualized target
or enemy to be struck across vast distances from headquarters located on different
continents, therefore without the need for a huge military deployment. Such an
advantage, however, in the eyes of the public creates an impression that the 21stcentury
battlefield is “global” and that, as a consequence, this unique capability of the drone
contributes to an increase in blurring the line between peace and war.2
Without the particular attention from the wide public, drones have been regularly
used by military for video-surveillance and reconnaissance purposes in support
of military operations for over the past forty years. In 2002 media reported that
a hellfire missile released by a drone killed six Al-Qaeda men in Yemen.3 From this
moment on, drones started to draw the attention of the public and its use started to
be perceived as highly controversial.
What caused such a shift towards the drone’s public unacceptability? In essence:
1) technological advances enabled drones to be armed with a lethal weapon; and
2) armed drones started to be widely used in support of counterterrorist operations
1 Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, UNGA, 68 session, A/68/382, 13 September 2013, § 13.
2 VINCENT BERNARD, Editorial: “Science cannot be place above its consequences”, International
Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 94, Number 886, Summer 2012, p. 461.
3 CIA killed Al-Qaeda suspects in Yemen, 5. 11. 2002, (visited
on 10 April 2015).