Home Podcasts Law and the Future of War
Law and the Future of War

Law and the Future of War

Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security 95 Episodes May 21, 2025

Law and the Future of War explores how emerging military technologies interact with international law, through conversations with experts in technology, law and military affairs. It is produced and published by the Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security, and was published by the University of Queensland School of Law until July 2024. Episodes are edited and produced by Dr Lauren Sanders and Dr Simon McKenzie. The show features research and commentary on legal questions raised by new weapons and warfare. Views expressed are those of the individual speakers and not necessarily of any government or defence organisation.

Episodes

The Geneva Conventions and the Third World - Srinivas Burra
The Geneva Conventions and the Third World - Srinivas Burra May 21, 2025 2725 Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Dr Simon McKenzie talks with Associate Professor Srinivas Burra about the Third World and the Geneva Conventions. They discuss the value of taking a Third World perspective of international law, and how being attentive to the view from these State helps explain the form and operation of international humanitarian law. Srinivas Burra is an Associate Professor of Law
The Geneva Conventions at sea - André Smit (ICRC)
The Geneva Conventions at sea - André Smit (ICRC) May 8, 2025 3208 Send us Fan MailAs part of the 75th anniversary series on the Gevena Conventions, Lauren Sanders speaks to André Smit - the ICRC Regional Legal Adviser on Maritime Matters (Asia-Pacific) when he visited Australia in September 2024. They discuss the applicability of Geneva Convention II (GC II) on the Amerlioraton to the region and challenges for states in applying their obligations under GC II in
The Geneva Conventions and Non-State Armed Groups - Katharine Fortin
The Geneva Conventions and Non-State Armed Groups - Katharine Fortin Jan 16, 2025 2789 Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Simon speaks with Dr Katharine Fortin about non-international armed conflicts, focussing on the intersections between IHL, international human rights law and armed non-State actors. Dr Katharine Fortin is a senior lecturer of public international law and human rights at Utrecht University's Netherlands Institute of Human Rights. She is the Editor in Chief of t
The Geneva Conventions in History - Helen Kinsella and Giovanni Mantilla
The Geneva Conventions in History - Helen Kinsella and Giovanni Mantilla Jan 2, 2025 3442 Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Simon speaks to Professor Helen Kinsella and Associate Professor Giovanni Mantilla, two leading experts on the history and formation of the Geneva Conventions and IHL more generally. They discuss the negotiations leading up the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol, exploring some of the political tensions that sits behind the provisions of these key legal tex
75 Years of the Geneva Conventions - Lauren Sanders and Simon McKenzie
75 Years of the Geneva Conventions - Lauren Sanders and Simon McKenzie Dec 19, 2024 1478 Send us Fan MailIn this series introduction, Dr Lauren Sanders and Dr Simon McKenzie talk about the Geneva Conventions, and what is in store for the Law and the Future of War podcast over the next few months.
A functional approach to the legal review of Autonomous Weapon Systems - webinar recording
A functional approach to the legal review of Autonomous Weapon Systems - webinar recording Dec 6, 2024 5531 Send us Fan MailThis episode is a recording of the  Asia-Pacific Institute for Law and Security  webinar hosted on 21 November 2024 on the functional approach to the legal review of autonomous weapon systems (AWS).AWS are no longer limited to science fiction. Conflicts in the Ukraine and Gaza demonstrate an increased trend toward the use of autonomy in the use of force in armed conflict. This webi
Regulation of novel technology: Trusted Autonomous Systems: Simon Ng and Clare East
Regulation of novel technology: Trusted Autonomous Systems: Simon Ng and Clare East Sep 20, 2024 2876 Send us Fan MailIn this episode we continue our futures mini-series, and speak with Dr Simon Ng and Ms Clare East about the challenges of adopting novel technology and influencing its regulation. In particular, as the Chief Scientist and Manager of Law, Regulation and Assurance at the Trusted Autonomous Defence Cooperative Research Centre, we hope to tease out the regulatory and engineering challe
The Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations - Dale Stephens
The Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations - Dale Stephens Jun 5, 2024 2612 Send us Fan MailIn this episode we hear from Professor Dale Stephens on the long-awaited release of The Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Operations, how it came about, what it is intended to do, and where international law might be headed in relation to military space operations - as well as the challenges in drafting an international law Manual dealing with the law in a h
Bounded Autonomy, Meaningful Human Control and Military AI - Jan Maarten Schraagen
Bounded Autonomy, Meaningful Human Control and Military AI - Jan Maarten Schraagen May 8, 2024 3291 Send us Fan MailIn this episode we dive into issues of human-machine teaming, with human factors engineer Jan Maarten Schraagen. Having edited the recently released book, Responsible Use of AI in Military Systems, Jan Maarten is an expert on how brittle technologies influence joint cognitive system performance. In this episode, in addition to exploring the book, we explore the outcomes of the 2023
OpinioJuris Symposium on Military AI and the Law of Armed Conflict - Lena Trabucco
OpinioJuris Symposium on Military AI and the Law of Armed Conflict - Lena Trabucco Apr 9, 2024 2738 Send us Fan MailPart of the ongoing debate about the lawfulness of autonomy in military systems in the manner in which the technology integrates with and interacts with its human masters.  The term Meaningful Human Control (or MHC) has garnered particular relevance in this debate. Today we speak with Dr Lena Trabucco about her upcoming OpinioJuris Symposium on Military AI and the Law of Armed Conf
Article 57, those who plan or decide on attacks and autonomous weapons - Renato Wolf
Article 57, those who plan or decide on attacks and autonomous weapons - Renato Wolf Mar 27, 2024 3078 Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Lauren Sanders is speaking with fellow LFW researcher, Renato Wolf about the issue of determining where legal obligations lie in the conduct of attacks, carried out by AWS. In particular they delve into his research about the Art 57 term ‘those who plan or decide attacks’ to see how that maps onto AWS, how that features in the AWS debate and what needs to be though
Future of War series: Stuart Casey-Maslen and Directed Energy Weapons
Future of War series: Stuart Casey-Maslen and Directed Energy Weapons Jan 17, 2024 2131 Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Dr Lauren Sanders speaks with Professor Stuart Casey-Maslen about Directed Energy Weapons. They traverse the existing legal controls on these weapons, and speak about the potential for future regulation of novel uses of energy weapons in armed conflict.  This conversation preceded a presentation by Dr Casey-Maslen, Dr Sanders and  Dr Altman for UNIDIR, which was a

Recommended