Can Soft Law Regulate Outer Space Activities?

Abstract

The debris-generation Chinese ASAT test in 2007 and the growing threat posed by orbital space debris prompted the international community to reexamine the existing international and administrative framework that regulates military and civilian activities in outer space. This framework is founded on two sets of authorities: “hard law” and “soft law”. The hard law space regime consists of legally binding rules, derived from multilateral treaties, such as the Outer Space Treaty, the rescue Agreement, the Liability Convention, the Registration Convention, and the Moon Treaty) and the body of customary international law. But the international community composed of sovereign States could not easily reach new legally binding instruments to govern space activities. That is the reason a variety of non-binding soft law norms have been introduced for these activities.

Keywords: Soft law – Hard law – Outer Space – Weaponization – Law of Armed Conflict – UNCOPUOS

DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/125-07

Publication date:October 31^st 2022