Book

Rise of the drones : a study on the legality of drone targeted killings of suspected terrorists

submitted by Olivia Herman

[S.l.] : [s.n.], 2013-2014

IV, 74 p. ; 30 cm

English

Master's thesis, Faculty of law, KU Leuven, academic year 2013-2014. - Bibliographie : p. 62-74. - Photocopies

The author tries to draw the lines of the two main legal frameworks that govern drone targeted killings, namely international human rights and humanitarian law from the perspective of the right to life. The author tries to determine when the two legal frameworks apply to drone strikes, if there is an interaction between both, and which legal requirements need to be fulfilled for a drone strike to be legal. The author also discusses the rising idea of an armed conflict between a State and a terrorist group and the practice of targeting on the basis of ‘suspicion’. A lot of legal ambiguities, uncertainties, and controversies will be shown and the author will try to provide an answer for these issues. However, when considering the application of these legal norms and principles to a case assessment another issue arises, that is the issue of lack of transparency by the States who are conducting these drone targeted killings of suspected terrorists.

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