The ILC plays a crucial role in interpreting, clarifying, and drafting international legal frameworks. Unlike other UN bodies, the ILC does not enforce laws but rather analyses emerging legal challenges, drafts legal principles, and provides advisory guidance to member states, courts, and international organizations. This committee will require delegates to apply legal reasoning, treaty analysis, and international jurisprudence to modern global challenges.

Committee Focus

International Responsibility and Implications of Lethal Autonomous Weapons

With rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and military technology, Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWs) — also known as "killer robots", are reshaping the nature of modern warfare. These weapons, capable of selecting and engaging targets without human intervention, raise profound legal, ethical, and miscellaneous security risks.

Key considerations for delegates:

• State Responsibility and Risks: Who is legally accountable when an autonomous weapon commits a war crime or violates international law? Can states be held liable if AI-driven weapons malfunction, misidentify targets, or commit disproportionate attacks?
• Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL): Do LAWs violate the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Regulations, or the Martens Clause, which require human judgment in war?
• Autonomy vs. Human Control: Should international law require “meaningful human control” over targeting decisions?
• Arms Race and Proliferation: What legal frameworks can prevent unregulated production and use of LAWs by state and non-state actors?

Committee Dynamics & Expectations

The ILC is not about negotiating political deals but rather establishing clear, legally sound frameworks. Delegates will analyse existing treaties, customary international law, and legal precedents to determine how international law should adapt to emerging autonomous warfare technologies. 

This committee will push delegates to think as international lawyers, legal scholars, and policymakers. The debate over LAWs is one of the most urgent legal challenges of the 21^st century, and this committee offers an opportunity to influence global norms, accountability structures, and future treaties.