Robin Geiß is the New Swiss IHL Chair

27 January 2020

Robin Geiß is the new Swiss Chair of International Humanitarian Law (Swiss IHL Chair) at the Geneva Academy.

He succeeds to Professor Noam Lubell who held this position from 2013 to 2019 and developed, in this context, the Guidelines on Investigating Violations of International Humanitarian Law with the International Committee of the Red Cross. 

Robin Geiß is Professor of International Law and Security at the University of Glasgow, Director of the Glasgow Centre for International Law and Security (GCILS) and a former Legal Adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross. He has taught, researched and published on a variety of topics related to international humanitarian law, human rights law and the legal and ethical implications of new technologies, and is recognized as a leading expert in these fields.

Focus on Disruptive Military Technologies

As Swiss IHL Chair, Professor Geiß will develop and promote the Geneva Academy’s expertise in the area of new military technologies via policy work, cutting-edge research, expert meetings, the development of partnerships, teaching and the launch of a new lecture series on this issue.

‘I will put a particular focus on the humanitarian, legal and ethical challenges raised by cyberwarfare and military applications of artificial intelligence. Technological advances in other fields such as space technology, quantum computing, nanotechnology, biotechnology and human enhancement will also be considered in light of their disruptive potential and humanitarian implications’ underlines Robin Geiß.

‘New (military) technologies are set to revolutionize the ways wars are fought. They are at the forefront of contemporary geopolitical power struggles and are already bringing about major transformative shifts in military and humanitarian affairs. The deployment of these new technologies in times of armed conflict will have far-reaching and not yet fully understood consequences for future humanitarian protection needs and the humanitarian legal framework at large’ he adds.