Legal Assessment and the Role of Courts in Armed Drone Operations in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region

Abstract

According to the domestic and international law, the use of force is generally prohibited, whether by drone or any other weapon, and problems should be solved by peaceful means. However, internal groups such as the Islamic Resistance Militia and international forces like Turkey and Iran have repeatedly violated the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Region as part of Iraq under the name of self-defense right. Because of these violations, hundreds of civilians in the Kurdistan Region has been killed, injured, their fields and houses burned and their villages evacuated. These drone and missile attacks have had a negative impact on the lives, economy, psychology, social and political aspects of the people, but the important question is what rights the victims have in respect of all the violations committed against them. This study aims to assess the legality of the use of armed drones against the Kurdistan Region and to investigate the role and impact of domestic and international courts in the judging of criminals, to achieve this goal, analytical and descriptive methods were used in the study.The research concluded that the use of drones against people is illegitimate and illegal. Therefore, the perpetrators can be punished, and the victims compensated before domestic and international courts.