The Legality of the Deployment of Conventional Weapons in Earth Orbit Against Terrestrial and Orbital Targets
- Paper number
IAC-06-E6.4.10
- Author
Mr. Ricky J. Lee, Ricky J. Lee & Associates, Australia
- Coauthor
Mr. Michel Bourbonniere, Department of Justice, Canada, (PWGSC) and Professor of Law at the Royal Military College of Canada, Canada
- Year
2006
- Abstract
Article IV of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty is very specific in that it prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in orbit around the Earth and for the complete demilitarisation of celestial bodies. What is absent from Article IV and other provisions of the space treaties is any specific provision on the deployment of conventional weapons, being weapons that would not be classified as a nuclear weapon or a weapon of mass destruction, in Earth orbit that may be directed against targets in orbit or on the surface of the Earth. This paper considers the legality of the deployment of conventional weapons in Earth orbit, whether by a State or a private entity, and possible legal or policy solutions that may be considered desirable by the international community. Particular attention would be paid to the legality of such a deployment in the context of Articles I and IX of the Outer Space Treaty and customary international law. In an ancillary way, the paper will also touch upon the legality of use of conventional weapons in Earth orbit.
- Abstract document