Space warfare and the future law of war

摘要

Publicists, scholars, and practitioners of international law have yet to produce a sustained analysis of the law of war as applied to armed conflict in outer space. Though no reported cases of armed conflict in space exist, the principal spacefaring nations have contemplated space warfare for decades. Concluding that the general legal regime regulating means and methods of warfare will apply to space combat, should it occur, this thesis attempts a preliminary examination. Chapter One presents a hypothetical space warfare scenario, followed by a chapter on the history of space militarization with a review of existing (and foreseeable) technology useful for space combat. Chapter Three analyzes the international legal regime governing armed conflict, drawing conclusions for space warfare where possible. Chapters Four and Five analyze the legal regime governing the corpus juris spatialis (space law proper), as well as related treaties and instruments supplementing the legal norms for human activity in space, respectively. Chapter Six lays a foundational legal analysis for the application of the law of war to space combat, concluding with a section that addresses specific issues raised by such application.