International law does not directly address intelligent defense systems (IDSs), of which Israel’s Iron Dome…
Written by Daphné Richemond-Barak and Ayal Feinberg
Published in the Harvard National Security Journal
International law does not directly address intelligent defense systems (IDSs), of which Israel’s Iron Dome embodies the most successful implementation to date. This Article argues that international humanitarian law (“IHL”) should encourage the development and use of systems like Iron Dome by conceptualizing such systems as civil defense.
That IHL should incentivize IDSs is not as obvious as it may seem. While incentivizing IDSs would uphold humanitarian law’s ultimate purpose (i.e., the protection of civilians), the data suggests that IDS deployment can lead to an increase in rockets and the (re)emergence of violent tactics. IDSs also challenge the prevailing logic of IHL, which is typically focused on protecting the other side and not one’s own. But not incentivizing systems like Iron Dome flies in the face of IHL’s essence and leads to more casualties.
IHL should choose to incentivize intelligent defense systems for reasons grounded in humanitarian law itself, data analysis on Iron Dome, and offense-defense theory. Ultimately, conceptualizing IDSs as civil defense best addresses the complex legal and security dilemmas arising out of the use of intelligent defense systems.
Senior Researcher and Head of the International Law Desk, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel Dr. Daphné Richemond-Barak joined IDC Herzliya in 2009, where she currently serves as a faculty member in the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, and as Senior Research and Head of the International Law Desk at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. Dr. Daphné Richemond-Barak holds a Maîtrise from Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), a Diploma in Legal Studies from Oxford University, an LL.M. from Yale Law School, and a Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University. She was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship, the European Commission Scholarship, the Hertford College Prize, and the Oxford Prize for Distinction. Prior to joining IDC, Dr. Richemond-Barak worked at the International Court of Justice and spent several years in private practice at the New York office of Cleary Gottlieb. Dr. Richemond-Barak has acted as private counsel for international law firms and as a legal adviser to states, including the government of Colombia in its territorial dispute against Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice. Dr. Richemond Barak’s research has appeared or is forthcoming in the Michigan Journal of International, the European Journal of International Law, the Catholic University Law Review, the Hague Yearbook of International Law, and the Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal, among other publications. She is also author of the forthcoming seventh edition of Rosenne's The World Court: What It Is and How It Works published by Brill/Martinus Nijhoff.
