Air and Space Law Commons^™

Guardians In Orbit: Legal Justifications And Limits Of Defensive Satellite Operations, Yurika Ishii

International Law Studies

The deployment of “bodyguard satellites”—spacecraft designed to autonomously detect and counter hostile space objects—has moved from classified capability development to explicit national security policy across a growing number of States. This article examines the circumstances under which interference with another State’s satellite may be legally justified under international law, analyzing several possible grounds: self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, forcible countermeasures, non-forcible countermeasures, and necessity. Drawing on a survey of national space defense policies, jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, and the law of State responsibility, the article reaches two principal conclusions. First, across all justificatory frameworks, …

Space: The Final Frontier (For State Power): The History Of The East India Company And The Future Of Outer Space, Richard Culbert

International Law Studies

Outer space may be the last domain where States largely lack the capability to use coercive force as an instrument of State control. In all areas of the globe, major powers have militaries and police forces that far exceed the capability of even the largest corporations. As corporations take an increasingly large role in outer space commerce it is likely that these private actors will develop a capacity to use force that quickly surpasses even the most powerful States.

To date there has been little analysis of this future phenomenon by legal scholars. Perhaps as a result, the current international …

Cosmic Force: A Framework For Applying The Prohibition Of The Use Of Force In Outer Space, Erin Pobjie

International Law Studies

Outer space is becoming increasingly contested and existing approaches to identifying prohibited force in outer space lack a systematic foundation, hindering their application to novel challenges such as temporary interference with critical satellites or threats involving commercial space actors. This article addresses this gap by developing the first comprehensive, multifactorial legal framework for identifying a prohibited use of force in outer space. This framework provides a structured method for analyzing non-kinetic actions, temporary effects, and persistent hazards like space debris. It fundamentally advances existing legal approaches in three ways. First, it establishes when States can be implicated in a violation …

Earth’S First Line Of Defense: Establishing Celestial Body-Based Planetary Defense Systems, Yang Liu

International Law Studies

This article discusses legal issues related to the establishment and use of celestial body-based planetary defense systems (CBPDS). It first finds that the application of current international space law to analyze the lawfulness of CBPDS can lead to many ambiguities. Accordingly, this article proposes a new construction of Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty to balance the need to develop celestial body-based planetary defense capacities and the risk of militarization of outer space. According to this article’s approach, neither the “exclusively for peaceful purposes” clause nor the clause prohibiting “military bases, installations and fortifications” on the moon and other …

Targeting A Satellite: Contrasting Considerations Between The Jus Ad Bellum And The Jus In Bello, Hitoshi Nasu

International Law Studies

With the development and greater availability of counter-space capabilities, satellites are becoming a prime target of military threats. However, the legal assessment for the targeting of a satellite requires careful analysis because of its impacts on terrestrial activities and the potential to affect the rights and interests of third parties when their payloads are carried by the targeted satellite. With these two unique characteristics in mind, this article unravels the complexity of international legal regimes applicable to military operations conducted against a satellite by contrasting threshold legal considerations necessary for the identification and application of relevant legal requirements under the …

Confronting Space Debris Through The Regime Evolution Approach, Gershon Hasin

International Law Studies

This article examines the complex policy problem of space debris and elaborates a proposal for a bottom-up cooperative regime for its mitigation. While debris proliferation generates costs and threatens the safety of personnel and equipment, this policy problem is compounded by the realization that debris constitutes a by-product of desirable space activities which facilitate national progress and domestic increases in values. It is further complicated by increased private participation, conflicting interests of participants, and a global order susceptible to outlier behavior.

Scholars attempting to tackle this policy problem have failed to appreciate the complex legislative process through which international rules …

Armed Conflicts In Outer Space: Which Law Applies?, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

International Law Studies

So far, outer space has merely become involved in terrestrial armed conflicts as part of the supportive infrastructure for military activities. Unfortunately, the risk that this changes is considerably growing, and it can no longer be excluded that (armed) force will become used in outer space, either directed towards Earth or within outer space itself.

This raises serious issues in the legal context, where space law so far has been premised on the hope that armed conflicts in outer space could be avoided whereas the law of armed conflict was not required so far to deal with the use of …

The International Legal Implications Of Military Space Operations: Examining The Interplay Between International Humanitarian Law And The Outer Space Legal Regime, Dale Stephens

International Law Studies

In the contemporary period, many military forces rely heavily on space-based assets to conduct operations across a wide spectrum of contexts. Such reliance necessarily exposes a correlative vulnerability that such assets may be degraded or destroyed, especially in a time of armed conflict. However, the legal framework that governs military action in space during a time of armed conflict is not well explored. This article examines the interaction between International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Outer Space legal regime. Harmonization of legal regimes is a goal of any reconciliation project, although such harmonization may not always be readily possible. In …

Silent War: Applicability Of The Jus In Bello To Military Space Operations, Kubo Mačák

International Law Studies

There are no molecules of air that could carry sound waves in the vacuum of outer space. Accordingly, space warfare may well become the first type of war whose signature sound would be—silence. But does the law of armed conflict (jus in bello) fall silent in times of Silent War? This article addresses the uncertainty at the heart of this issue. First, it delineates the relevant conceptual framework by examining the factual notion of “military space operations,” and its relationship with the legal concept of “armed conflict,” as well as the overlap between the potentially applicable bodies of …

Neutrality And Outer Space, Wolff Heintschel Von Heinegg

International Law Studies

This article discusses the law of neutrality as it pertains to belligerent operations in and through outer space as well as belligerent outer space operations involving the territory and national airspace of neutral States. As far as the latter is concerned, the traditional law of neutrality is fully applicable. Accordingly, international law prohibits belligerents from launching space objects from neutral territory or through neutral national airspace. While neutral States may not provide belligerents with outer space assets or the use of communications infrastructure located in their territories, they are not obliged to prevent their nationals from providing any of the …

Space Weapons And The Law, Bill Boothby

International Law Studies

Outer space is of vital importance for numerous civilian and military functions in the modern world. The idea of a space weapon involves something used, intended or designed for employment in, to or from outer space to cause injury or damage to the enemy during an armed conflict. Non-injurious, non-damaging space activities that adversely affect enemy military operations or capacity, though not involving the use of weapons, will nevertheless be methods of warfare. Article III of the Outer Space Treaty makes it clear that international law, including weapons law, applies in outer space. Accordingly, the superfluous injury/unnecessary suffering and indiscriminate …

Index

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Appendix: Commander's Handbook On The Law Of Naval Operations

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Soviet·American Arms Negotiations-1960-68: A Prelude For Salt, Eric W. Hayden

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

What's Left Of Salt?, Richard T. Ackley

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Chapter I: Introduction, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Appendix A: List Of Annexes, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Appendix B: Bibliography Of Bibliographies Relating To The International Law Of Outer Space, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Chapter V: The Right To The Maintenance Of International Peace, Security, And Self-Defense In Outer Space, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Chapter Vii: Conclusions, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Chapter Iv: Reasonable Uses Of Outer Space, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Chapter Vi: Legal Problems Arising From The Reasonable Uses Of Outer Space, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Chapter Ii: Outer Space And The World Community, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Chapter Iii: The Development Of The Law Of Outer Space, Carl Q. Christol

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.