Abstract
Outer space is the new battle ground and states are investing heavily to achieve military supremacy in space. There is no provision in any space treaty that explains what constitutes space and whether the celestial bodies are included in space or not. It is widely accepted that the moon and other celestial bodies should be used for the collective benefit of mankind and that no state should exploit space and celestial bodies to derive benefit by putting at risk the peace and security of other states. Thus, while the treaty regime calls for ‘peaceful use’ of space only, there is a conflict of interpretation regarding the phrase which is often limited to ‘non-military use’ or ‘non-aggressive use’. In consequence of these lacunas in space-related treaty regimes – which should be removed to save it from subsequent weaponization – space has been used for military purposes for over fifty years by employing technology to locate and target enemies. The first step is to precisely define what constitutes space weapon, followed by adoption of non-binding code of conduct. However, ultimately, there is need for adoption of complete, equitable and verifiable ban on space weapons that are either already placed or will be placed in near future in space to attack humans and assets on space or earth, or are placed on earth to attack assets in space.
Highlights
Several treaties have been concluded for regulating space activities, they failed to effectively regulate space activities. One reason for such failure is that these treaties were not well-drafted as they are more reflective of the threats of Cold War than the post-Cold War which constitutes a considerably different scenario
The paper will carry a detailed discussion on international law, its ability or inability to cater to the modern threats to peace, and keeping space militarization at bay
With the advent of space space technology, many technology, many jurists6 pointed out the legal issues that could jurists pointed out the emerge with growing outer space activities and indicated a need for a separate body of law to deal with legal issues that could emerge with growing space issues
Summary
Abstract [Outer space is the new battle ground and states are investing heavily to achieve military supremacy in space. While the treaty regime calls for ‘peaceful use’ of space only, there is a conflict of interpretation regarding the phrase which is often limited to ‘non-military use’ or ‘non-aggressive use’. In consequence of these lacunas in space-related treaty regimes – which should be removed to save it from subsequent weaponization – space has been used for military purposes for over fifty years by employing technology to locate and target enemies. The first step is to precisely define what constitutes space weapon, followed by adoption of non-binding code of conduct. There is need for adoption of complete, equitable and verifiable ban on space weapons that are either already placed or will be placed in near future in space to attack humans and assets on space or earth, or are placed on earth to attack assets in space. – Editors.]
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