Exploring the Significance and the Application of the Law of Neutrality in the Outer Space

The legal relationship between states participating in an international armed conflict (belligerents) and other states abstaining from it (neutrals) is governed by the law of neutrality, which lays out their respective rights and obligations with regard to the conduct of hostilities. Key players in the continuous shift from an industrial-based global economic order to one that is increasingly dominated by information services are satellite telecommunications, global navigation, and remote sensing technologies. Armed forces all over the world are pursuing independent space capabilities and modifying their force structures, doctrines, and strategies to match, driven by the desire to gain “information superiority” over an adversary and take control of the ultimate “high ground”—space. A number of legislative and political initiatives to outlaw the stationing and/or use of weap-ons in space have been spurred by these tendencies. This article contends that if humanity hopes to lessen the effects and spread of warfare carried out in, from, and through outer space, it is necessary to consult the bodies of international law specifically with regards to the law of neutrality that are already in place and are based on a pragmatic acceptance of armed conflict. These efforts have not succeeded in gaining traction, and it appears unlikely that they will in the near future. This article will explore the significance and the application of the law of neutrality as a mechanism to mediate competing claims of belligerents and neutrals during armed conflict in outer space.