What Role and Rules for Canada's Armed Drones?

Canadian Global Affairs Institute: Policy Perspectives (2018); ISBN: 978-1-77397-055-4

15 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2019

See all articles by Craig Martin

Craig Martin

Washburn University - School of Law

Date Written: December 23, 2018

Abstract

The Canadian government announced in June 2017 that it was planning to purchase and deploy armed drones. Yet to date it has provided virtually no information on how and for what purpose such armed drones would be used, beyond anodyne comments that they would be used like any other conventional weapon. However, conventional weapons have varying capabilities and purposes, and implicate international law in different ways as a result. Armed drones have been primarily used for the purpose of targeted killing, in ways that have raised significant legal questions and triggered claims of excessive civilian deaths. Canadians should be concerned about how, for what purpose, and according to what limitations the government plans to deploy armed drones. Other countries have provided greater transparency than Canada regarding the law and policy framework governing the use of armed drones. This short essay reviews how armed drones have been used elsewhere, explains the significant legal issues that are implicated by the different ways in which drones have been used and what that implies for the role of Canadian armed drones. It suggests that strict, clear and publicly disclosed limits be placed on drone use to ensure compliance with Canada’s international law obligations.

Keywords: armed drones, armed conflict, IHL, national security, Canada, jus ad bellum

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Martin, Craig, What Role and Rules for Canada's Armed Drones? (December 23, 2018). Canadian Global Affairs Institute: Policy Perspectives (2018); ISBN: 978-1-77397-055-4 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3308515

Craig Martin (Contact Author)

Washburn University - School of Law ( email )

1700 College Avenue
Topeka, KS 66621
United States

HOME PAGE: http://washburnlaw.edu/faculty/martin-craig.php

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
59
Abstract Views
1,170
Rank
648,431
PlumX Metrics