Murky Waters: The Legal Status of Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
![handle is hein.journals/naval53 and id is 57 raw text is: Naval Law Review
MURKY WATERS: THE LEGAL STATUS
OF UNMANNED UNDERSEA VEHICLES
Commander Andrew H. Henderson, JAGC, USN*
[S]o far reaching are the principles which underlie the
jurisdiction of the courts of admiralty that they adapt
themselves to all the new kinds of property and new sets of
operatives and new conditions which are brought into
existence in the progress of the world.'
I. Introduction
The Honorable Judge William H. Brawley was not discussing a highly
technical, undersea robot when he penned the above opinion in 1896 about the
progress of the world, but rather the mud dredge Morgan, operating in a
Potomac creek near Washington, D.C.3 Despite rapid technological advances in
unmanned systems -- air, land, sea, and underwater
-- his observations nonetheless remain relevant over 100 years later.
Throughout the world, there are presently hundreds of Unmanned
Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) commercially available or under development.4
These modem machines could hardly be anticipated by the drafters of early
* Presently assigned as the Deputy Force Judge Advocate for Commander, Naval Air Forces, U.S.
Pacific Fleet, in San Diego, California. LL.M. 2006, The Judge Advocate General's School, United
States Army, Charlottesville, Virginia; M.A. 2004, University of Redlands School of Business; J.D.
1993, Pepperdine University School of Law; B.A. 1989, Bates College. Previous assignments
include Officer In Charge, Naval Justice School Detachment, San Diego, California, 2002-2005;
Command Judge Advocate, USS JOHN C. STENNIS (CVN 74), San Diego, California, 2000-2002;
Tort Claims Attorney, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Washington, District of Columbia,
1998-2000; Staff Judge Advocate, Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine, 1996-1998; Defense and
Legal Assistance Attorney, Naval Legal Service Office Southwest, San Diego, California, 1994-
1996. Member of the bars of California, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the Ninth
Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. This article was submitted in partial
completion of the Master of Laws requirements of the 54th Judge Advocate Officer Graduate Course
at The Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, Charlottesville, Virginia.
1 Saylor v. Taylor, 77 F. 476, 479 (4th Cir. 1896).
2 See William Huggins Brawley Biography,
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index-B000775 (last visited Mar. 10, 2006). A
Civil War veteran, Judge Brawley served in Congress from 1891-1894 before accepting an
appointment to the bench in the United States District Court of South Carolina. See id.
3 See Saylor, 77 F. at 479.
4 BARBARA FLETCHER, SPACE AND NAVAL WARFARE SYSTEMS CTR., UUV MASTER PLAN: A
VISION FOR NAVY UUV DEVELOPMENT, http://www.spawar.navy.mil/robots/pubs/oceans2000b.pdf
(last visited Mar. 10, 2006).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/naval53&div=5&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Murky Waters: The Legal Status of Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
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