World War III News: Scientists, Lawyers Draft First Legal Manual for Space Warfare
Not everyone knows it, but there's actually an existing space treaty that acts as an international law which outlines the peaceful uses of outer space. Half a century after its promulgation, a new, updated treaty is in the works to reflect the changes in space exploration over the past 50 years.
Signed on Jan. 27, 1967 through the United Nations, the Outer Space Treaty is considered a "constitution" which binds the 50 ratifying countries to certain rules on the peaceful exploration and use of outer space. Some of the treaty's basic framework include prohibiting the use of weapons of mass destruction and preventing countries from "nationally appropriating" celestial territories like moons and planets.
But these rules are limited only for peaceful purposes and do not deal with military activities. Moreover, the absence of a "space police" makes the treaty unenforceable. There have been instances when countries made initiatives that exploited the treaty's loopholes.
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The Reagan administration in 1983 broached a Strategic Defense Initiative that would have armed orbiting satellites with anti-missile systems. More recently, China destroyed one of its own satellites. The act didn't violate the treaty though, as it used a missile which isn't a weapon of mass destruction.
Because of the treaty's shortfalls, a group of lawyers and scientists is drafting a first legal manual for space warfare to address military conflicts like hacking and attacking satellites, firing lasers, taking astronauts as hostages and an arms race. This doesn't mean, however, that the new treaty will condone warfare.
On the contrary, the project called Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space (Milanos) seeks to prevent armed conflict and minimize the devastating impact that military operations may have on space. It intends to do this by establishing the legal parameters for the military uses of outer space.
Members of the group concede that Milanos has brought forward more questions than answers given the different scenarios presented. Heated discussions and compromises are expected in the drafting of the rules, but they hope to produce an authoritative statement on responsible behavior in space even in times of conflict.
