Outer Space Treaty
14 Articles
Balancing State Security and Peace and Security in Outer Space: What Role for International Law on the Use of Force?
Understanding jus ad bellum necessity and proportionality is crucial to addressing concerns regarding the weaponization of outer space.
The Just Security Podcast: A New Guide to International Law and Military Activities in Outer Space
Legal experts have published the Woomera Manual on the International Law of Military Space Activities and Operations.
In the Woomera Manual, International Law Meets Military Space Activities
An editor of the new Woomera Manual analyzes cutting-edge developments in the international law of outer space.
Nine Stories That Deserved More Attention in 2023 – and That May Shape 2024
What stories or topics merited more attention in 2023, with a particular eye toward what might inform law and policy conversations in 2024?
The Commercial Space Act of 2023 is Bad for National Security
The Commercial Space Act prioritizes industry growth and international obligations over national security. It doesn't have to choose.
The Outer Space Treaty and Promoting Responsible Use of Space
States should continue to work on confidence building measures in outer space and should ban anti-satellite tests, which are harmful to humankind.
Remote Sensing from Space: What Norms Govern?
"If recent excitement about spy balloons is any indication, it may be high time to prioritize a coherent international framework for remote sensing."
How Does IHL apply to New Technologies in Outer Space?: Expert Q&A from Stockton Center’s Russia-Ukraine Conference
The real challenge in the space domain is avoiding escalation in the first instance, such as by reducing threats and developing transparency and confidence building measures.
The Russian ASAT Test Caps a Bad Year for the Due Regard Principle in Space
It's time for States to take positions on their treaty obligation to act with "due regard" to the interests of others in outer space.
The Threat from Outer Space: Russia Tests Kinetic DA-ASAT Weapon
Russia’s unannounced anti-satellite missile test raises important legal and policy questions about the prohibition on the use of force in outer space.
A Threat or A Warning: Russia’s Weapons Testing in Space
Are there rules governing the use of weapons in space? A well-established framework of international law centered on the Outer Space Treaty (OST), to which all major spacefaring…
War in Space: How International Humanitarian Law Might Apply
(Editor’s Note: The absence of a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework for military operations in outer space represents a troubling deficiency in the understanding of…