Who Acts When Autonomous Weapons Strike?The Act Requirement for Individual Criminal Responsibility and State Responsibility

AbstractThis essay examines the theories according to which ‘actions’ carried out by autonomous weapon systems enabled by strong artificial intelligence in detecting, tracking and engaging with the target (‘intelligent AWS’) may be seen as an ‘act’ of the weapon system for the purpose of legal responsibility. The essay focuses on the material act required for the commission of war crimes related to prohibited attacks in warfare. After briefly presenting the va