Drones in the light of public international law

Abstract EN

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States of America began to use Drones against some terrorist targets of al-Qaeda, especially those positioned in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia, and they have become an excellent weapon in fighting terrorism.

However, the controversial use of Drones by USA and other international forces raises legal questions among international law scholars regarding the legality of such military system.

While some arguments support the legality of the use of Drones on the basis that public international law does not, explicitly or implicitly, prohibit such weapons, others disagree.

This research paper will determine the position of public international law, with its different branches, such as, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international criminal law; from this issue.

It will deal with questions relating to the stand of the United Nations Charter from this kind of weapons, if there is any, and whether any potential absence of legal rules regulating the use of such weapons could be interpreted as an implicit authorization of their use.

In process of discussing this issue, this research paper will focus on the legal perspective of public international law, which excludes all political aspects that might relate to the subject.