The use of Autonomous weapons from the perspective of the principles of international humanitarian law

The work focuses on a number of principles of international humanitarian law that must be met by both weapons and the way they are used: distinction, military necessity and proportionality, the prohibition of causing unnecessary suffering, and humanity. The paper provides recommendations and assessments for each of the principles under consideration. The author justifies the need not to prohibit Autonomous weapons, but to develop rules for their use and human participation in their functioning. A significant challenge to the development of such rules is the opacity of Autonomous weapons systems, if we consider them as a complex intelligent computer system.