Damian Copeland


Research Themes
Research interests
Biography
Damian is a lawyer in the Australian Army and holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Since joining the Army Legal Corps in 2006 he has served in a variety of appointments. As a lawyer in the Department of Defence, Directorate of Operations and Security Law in Canberra, Damian completed Article 36 reviews on a range of new weapons introduced into the Australian Defence Force. His PhD thesis considers the ability of international humanitarian law (IHL) to regulate new technology weapons. He uses the Art 36 weapons review process to consider existing and future challenges to IHL presented by autonomous weapons, cyber weapons, and weapons enhanced by artificial intelligence.
Book chapters
Chapter 4, Legal Review of New Technology Weapons in H.Nasu and R.McLaughlin (eds.), New Technologies and the Law of Armed Conflict, (T.M.C Asser Press, 2014) 43-55.
Refereed journal articles
Copeland, Damian and Reynoldson, Luke. How to avoid 'summoning the demon': The legal review of weapons with artificial intelligence [online]. Pandora's Box, 2017: 97-109.
Topic
How to conduct an Article 36 legal review of weapons with autonomy