Legal Issues Relating To Application Of International Humanitarian Law In Context Of Outer Space Armed Conflicts

With the development of science and technology,it is becoming more and more possible for armed conflicts to expand from land,sea,air and cyberspace to outer space.In reaction to this phenomenon,this dissertation discusses whether the international humanitarian law can be applied to the outer space,when IHL can be used in outer space,the relationship between IHL and UN outer space treaty system,and how to apply IHL in the outer space specifically,as much as possible in the hope of clarifying all the important issues related to application of IHL in the context of outer space armed conflict.Chapter one defines the concept of outer space armed conflict,and analyzes legal factors,military technology factors and national policy factors that may cause it,and concludes that it is the combination of these three factors that makes armed conflict in outer space move from science fiction to reality.At the same time,the legal basis of the application of international humanitarian law in outer space is also analyzed.At present,there are serious loopholes in international law in regulating the militarization and weaponization of outer space.Although the international community has made efforts to this end,it is still insufficient in terms of results.At the same time,outer space environmental protection puts forward higher requirements for the application of law.Meanwhile,by analyzing customary international humanitarian law,cases of international courts and theories of scholars of public international law,it is concluded that the application of international humanitarian law to outer space is legally feasible.After determining the applicability of international humanitarian law to outer space,Chapter Two discusses when the application of international humanitarian law to outer space begins.In general,the presence of armed conflict is the precondition of application of international humanitarian law,therefore the paper discusses three kinds of circumstances: outer space action exists in the existing armed conflicts,the space actions alone constitute an international armed conflict,actions in outer space alone constitute a non-international armed conflict,international humanitarian law in these three cases can be applied to outer space.At the same time,it is believed that outer space operations which do not take the form of kinetic energy attacks can also trigger the threshold of international or non-international armed conflicts.In addition,the application of international humanitarian law to outer space may also arise when states intervene by outer space operations in non-international armed conflicts in other states.After the start of armed conflicts in outer space,applicable laws include not only international humanitarian law but also the United Nations outer space treaty system.Chapter Three analyzes how the international humanitarian law and the outer space treaty system influence each other.Before that,according to the draft articles of the International Law Commission on the Impact of Armed Conflicts on Treaties and scholars' theories,the author analyzed which rules of outer space can be applied in armed conflicts.It then analyzes the impact of these applicable outer space rules on international humanitarian law and how to deal with such impact.Finally concluded that crossing areas of outer space law system and international humanitarian law are full of uncertainty,this uncertainty will weaken the regulation of hostilities in outer space,then the principle of systematic integration is needed to maximize the realization of humanitarian pursuit for the two kinds of system,analyzes the mutual influence between them item by item in order to maximize the optimization of coordination.The Fourth and Fifth Chapters analyze the application of distinction principle,proportionality principle and precautionary principle in outer space armed conflict.The principle of distinction is the most basic principle of international humanitarian law and can be applied to armed conflicts in outer space.When it is applied,it mainly includes two aspects: distinguishing civilian objects from military objects,distinguishing the identity of persons.On the one hand,it requires judging whether a satellite constitutes a military objective according to its nature,purpose,purpose and position.On the other hand,it also distinguishes the identity of astronauts and space technicians to provide protection for them.Since outer space is primarily unmanned,the impact of attacks is determined on the basis of the principle of proportionality,taking into account damage,destruction and loss of function to outer space objects.The impact of the attack includes not only direct effects,such as direct damage to space equipment such as satellites and space stations,but also those foreseeable indirect effects,the principle of proportionality requires commanders to analyze the concrete and direct military interests and possible collateral damage on the basis of sufficient information and intelligence when attacking dual-use satellites,and to issue an attack order only if the ratio between the two is not excessive.In view of the series of collateral damage caused by attacking outer space equipment,the precautionary principle requires commanders to carefully select weapons and targets when carrying out attacks on dual-use satellites,especially when attacking dual-use satellites.The Sixth Chapter analyzes how other international humanitarian laws and regulations are applied in outer space armed conflict.Weapons rules in international humanitarian law can adjust the application of outer space weapons,thus excluding the use of weapons that cause indiscriminate attacks,making kinetic anti-satellite weapons illegal means of warfare.At the same time,weapons rules also provide objective criteria for States to assess the legality of outer space weapons.The international humanitarian law also specifically provides for the protection of the environment,in conjunction with the Draft Principles on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts,established by the International Law Commission,that the outer space environment in the armed conflict in outer space should be a factor in assessing the legality of outer space military activities,the purpose of protecting the environment can be realized through the restriction of hostilities.The rules of neutrality,based on the Hague Convention V and the Hague Convention XIII,while not directly applicable in outer space,can adjust outer space armed conflicts,The application of the neutrality rule,in particular,would have an impact on communications and remote sensing activities using satellites and ground base stations,which would require neutral States to strengthen export controls on military items,when providing communications or remote sensing services to belligerents,they should be prevented from being used for military purposes.Along with our country's military modernization,and outer space in the people's liberation army military action plays a more and more important role,given the international humanitarian law,some problems have been caused by its application in the outer space,it will inevitably impact on China's military use of outer space,therefore responses must be made from every aspect.