THE PRINCIPLE OF MILITARY NECESSITY AND USE OF DRONE IN ARMED CONFLICT

Abstract

Military Necessity is the notion used to justify the recourse to violence within the rules of International Humanitarian Law. According to Dowey, Military Necessity is an urgent need, admitting of no delay, for the taking by a commander, of measures which are indispensable for forcing as quickly as possible the complete surrender of the enemy by means of regulated violence, which are not forbidden by the laws and customs of war.1In other words, any measure taken or violence that is not justified by Military Necessity is prohibited by the Laws of Armed Conflict. The confusion that many legal research work face is understanding how any destruction not forbidden by the law of armed conflict can be accessed and upheld as having being justified by Military Necessity. There seem to be a misconception or misrepresentation that comes with understanding the extent of what Military Necessity entails. This article therefore, mirrors the several definitions or existing references accorded to Military Necessity with the intent to first establish a clear understanding of the concept, then it proceeds to micro-analyze how Drone Combat, employed as a measure in war for the purpose of achieving success in war functions within the ambit of military necessity and finally, the objective of the article is to explore and draws public attention to how military necessity in the face of silence in the rules of International Humanitarian Law on drone use and control empowers military commanders to do horrendous damage using armed drones under the guise of military necessity. It concludes by suggesting better ways to use drone in armed conflict.