Scientists from the English, American and two Australian universities say they will not develop any new laws, but will collect all the existing rules and regulations related to space.
With the development of technologies and active space exploration, there is an increasing need to create a unified code of laws related to space research. Of course, there are international agreements, such as the 1967 Treaty on the Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, but for the most part now there is no single document that outlines how countries and private companies are allowed to operate outside the Earth.
This is why a group of universities is working on a document tentatively called The Woomera Manual, after a community in southeastern Australia. This large-scale project plans to collect, clarify and streamline all existing laws relating to the exploration and exploration of space and the associated militarization.
A team of staff from the University of Adelaide, the University of New South Wales at Canberra, the University of Exeter and the University of Nebraska College of Law has already begun work. Their first meeting in the United States, which will take place from February 24 to February 28 in Lincoln, Nebraska, aims to broaden the perspectives and ideas that will define the final document expected to be published in 2020. According to Jack Beard, a professor at the University of Nebraska School of Law, the paper "will become the definitive document on military and space safety law" and draw on the knowledge of dozens of legal and space experts around the world.
Now many countries are so dependent on existing space developments that the failure of vital satellites will cause chaos on Earth. Thanks to commercialization and technological innovation, outer space has become essential for the functioning of areas such as communications, transportation, commerce and healthcare.
In times of high tension, States' heavy reliance on space infrastructure for public safety is a vulnerability that can be exploited. Such exploitation can become a flashpoint leading to the escalation of conflicts and, possibly, to the outbreak of hostilities. Diplomatic efforts to prevent an arms race in outer space or the outbreak of conflict include the implementation of confidence-building and confidence-building measures, sometimes by proposing new international instruments that would update old or touch upon entirely new areas. In particular, there was no comprehensive study of the law on the use of force by States (jus ad bellum) and the law of armed conflict (jus in bello) in outer space.
In fact, the document will not contain any new recommendations. It aims to organize and present laws that are already pending so that policymakers, industry leaders and other figures can make more informed decisions about activities in space. Considering the fact that the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibited any military development in outer space, is now practically discarded, the document being developed is gaining more and more importance.
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Dmitry Mazalevsky