Research – 50 – ILIC 10

The Future of International Criminal Law: Adapting to New Forms of Warfare and Atrocity

https://doi.org/10.23918/ilic10.50

Keywords: International Criminal Law, Cyber Warfare, Autonomous Weapons, Non-State Actors, Legal Reform, Accountability.

 

Download the PDF document.

PROCEEDINGS OF 10th INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ISSUES CONFERENCE

Faculty of Law, Tishk International University

Date:10-11. June 2026

Venue: Kurdistan Region- Erbil, Iraq

ISBN: 979-8-9890269-4-4

———————————————————————–———————————————————————–——————————–   

Lect. Hamad Kareem Hamad

Department of Law, College of Law, Knowledge University, Kirkuk Road, 44001 Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

———————————————————————–———————————————————————–——————————

Abstract

International Criminal Law (ICL) stands at an important intersection as the nature and atrocities of war develop rapidly in the 21st century. The emergence of cyber warfare, autonomous weapons, and hybrid conflicts and constructing partnerships of non-governmental actors bear highlighted important intervals and boundaries inch the flow sound Structure. This research provides a broad and intensive analysis of versatile challenges ahead of International Criminal Law (ICL) as it wants to be compatible with these new and complicated realities. It finds the problem of emerging forms of (ICL) real evolution warfare and atrocities and legal and normative gaps that rest inch flow police. In addition, the research examines the reactions of international institutions and courts for these challenges. Through doctrinal analysis and hypothesis testing of the fancy suit the clause proposes modern routes for advance and prospective book of instructions for (ICL). This research ends with practical recommendations for legal institutional and political reforms to ensure that ICL is becoming increasingly effective at providing justice and responsibility in the time of technical and geopolitical changes.

 

References

Books & Journal Articles

• Aanonsen, Claudia Emilie. “Stuxnet, Revisited (Again): Producing the Strategic Relevance of Cyber Operations.” Journal of Cyber Policy, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2025, Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1080/23738871.2025.2492570
• Adanan, Amina. “Reflecting on the Genocide Convention in Its Eighth Decade.” Journal of International Criminal Justice, vol. 19, no. 5, Nov. 2021, Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqab070
• Bassiouni, M. Cherif, Introduction to International Criminal Law, 2nd ed., Brill, Leiden, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004231696
• Boulanin, Vincent & Verbruggen, Maaike, “Mapping the Development of Autonomy in Weapon Systems,” SIPRI, Stockholm, 2017, https://www.sipri.org/publications/2017/other-publications/mapping-development-autonomy-weapon-systems
• Cassese, Antonio, International Criminal Law, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013, p. 45. https://doi.org/10.1093/he/9780199694921.001.0001
• Crootof, Rebecca, “The Killer Robots Are Here: Legal and Policy Implications,” Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 36, 2015, https://cardozolawreview.com/the-killer-robots-are-here-legal-and-policy-implications/
• Cryer, Robert et al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, 4th ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108680455
• Deibert, Ron. “The Geopolitics of Cyberspace After Snowden.” Current History, vol. 114, no. 768, Jan. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.2015.114.768.9
• Dinniss, Heather Harrison, Cyber Warfare and the Laws of War, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511894527
• Greenberg, Andy, Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers, Doubleday, New York, 2019, https://dokumen.pub/sandworm-a-new-era-of-cyberwar-and-the-hunt-for-the-kremlins-most-dangerous-hackers-978-0385544405.html
• Grigore, Georgiana, et al. “Drama and Discounting in the Relational Dynamics of Corporate Social Responsibility.” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 174, no. 1, Aug. 2020, Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04591-5.

• Halala Slyeman Rahman, Mahdi Hamdi Mahdi Mahdi, and Hind Abdulameer Hameed Hameed. “Penal Populism in Criminal Cases in Courts.” Zanco Journal of Law and Politics گۆڤاری زانكۆ بۆ یاساو رامیاری 22.37 (2024):.‎ https://doi.org/10.21271/zjlp.22.37.8

• Hamad, Hamad Kareem. “Impunity in International Criminal Justice.” QALAAI ZANIST SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL 10.4 (2025). https://doi.org/10.25212/lfu.qzj.10.4.50
• Hamad, Hamad Kareem. “Sovereign Immunity and Its Development in International Law.” Qalaai Zanist Scientific Journal 3.1 (2018). https://doi.org/10.25212/lfu.qzj.3.1.46
• Human Rights Watch, “Losing Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots,” 2012, https://www.hrw.org/report/2012/11/19/losing-humanity/case-against-killer-robots
• ICC, “Policy Paper on Case Selection and Prioritisation,” 2016, https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/itemsDocuments/20160915_OTP-Policy_Case-Selection_Eng.pdf
• ICC, “Preliminary Examination: Situation in Ukraine,” 2022, https://www.icc-cpi.int/ukraine
• International Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/
• Jin young Hwang. “Sovereignty and Non-State Actors: The Rise of Transnational Influence.” Open Access Research Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 9, no. 2, Apr. 2025, Crossref, https://doi.org/10.53022/oarjms.2025.9.2.0025
• Justin Ngambu Wanki, et al. “Putting the Relationship between States and the ICC into Perspective: The Viability of National Courts in Driving Complementarity in Africa.” Obiter, vol. 41, no. 1, Apr. 2020, Crossref, https://doi.org/10.17159/obiter.v41i1.10554
• Kagita, Mohan Krishna, et al. A Review on Cyber Crimes on the Internet of Things. Springer Singapore, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-6186-0_4
• Kucyi, Aaron, et al. “Spontaneous Cognitive Processes and the Behavioral Validation of Time-Varying Brain Connectivity.” Network Neuroscience, vol. 2, no. 4, Oct. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1162/netn_a_00037.
• Land, Molly K., and Jay D. Aronson. “Human Rights and Technology: New Challenges for Justice and Accountability.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science, vol. 16, no. 1, July 2020, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-060220-081955
• Lin, Herbert. “Attribution of Malicious Cyber Incidents: From Soup to Nuts.” Journal of International Affairs, vol. 70, no. 1, 2016, JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/90012598.
• Melzer, Nils, International Humanitarian Law: A Comprehensive Introduction, ICRC, Geneva, 2016, https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/145960/
• Ottis, Rain, “Analysis of the 2007 Cyber- attacks Against Estonia,” NATO CCD COE Publications, Tallinn, 2008, p. 5. https://ccdcoe.org/uploads/2018/10/Ottis2008_AnalysisOf2007FromTheInformationWarfarePerspective.pdf

• Rahman, Halala Sleyman. “Criminalizing Forced Marriage in Iraqi Law and International Law.” QALAAI ZANIST SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL 10.4 (2025).https://doi.org/10.25212/lfu.qzj.10.4.51

• Rasooli, Sayed Aref. “An Examination of Crimes under the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).” Baharestan Scientific Research Quarterly Journal, Dec. 2024, Crossref, https://doi.org/10.61438/bsrqj.v2i3.124
• Sassòli, Marco, International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2019, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781786438553
• Schabas, William A., An Introduction to the International Criminal Court, 5th ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316459997
• Schmitt, Michael N., “Cyber Operations and the Jus in Bello: Key Issues,” International Law Studies, Vol. 87, 2011, https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/ils/vol87/iss1/7/
• Schmitt, Michael N., Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316822524
• Simmons, Beth A., and Hyeran Jo. “Measuring Norms and Normative Contestation: The Case of International Criminal Law.” Journal of Global Security Studies, vol. 4, no. 1, Jan. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogy043
• Singer, P.W. & Friedman, Allan, Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2014, https://doi.org/10.1093/wentk/9780199918096.001.0001
• Suresh, Veena. “The Victims’ Court? An Analysis of the Participation of Victims of Sexual Violence in International Criminal Proceedings.” Groningen Journal of International Law, vol. 8, no. 2, Feb. 2021, https://doi.org/10.21827/grojil.8.2.244-269
• Umbrello, Steven, et al. “The Future of War: Could Lethal Autonomous Weapons Make Conflict More Ethical?” AI & SOCIETY, vol. 35, no. 1, Feb. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-019-00879-x

International Instruments

• Council of Europe, “Convention on Cybercrime,” https://www.coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/the-budapest-convention
• European Union, “Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems (NIS Directive),” 2016, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/1148/oj
• Facebook, “Community Standards,”

https://transparency.fb.com/policies/community-standards/

• Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocols, ICRC,

https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3934214?ln=en&v=pdf

https://www.icrc.org/en/law-and-policy/geneva-conventions-and-their-commentaries

• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998, https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/documents/rs-eng.pdf
• United Nations, “Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security,” A/RES/73/27, 2018, https://undocs.org/A/RES/73/27
• United Nations, “Group of Governmental Experts on Advancing Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace,” 2021
• United Nations, “Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS),” https://meetings.unoda.org/ccw/convention-on-certain-conventional-weapons-group-of-governmental-experts-on-lethal-autonomous-weapons-systems-2025
• United Nations, “Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar,” A/HRC/39/64, 2018, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFM-Myanmar/A_HRC_39_64.pdf