The Question of Space Militarization and International Law

Space has been used for many years for military purposes. Yet, i is one of those types of activity which can be described as „passive". Nevertheless, the danger of space armament increases, weapons intended against space objects are being tested. The query is: what is the international legal aspect of space militarization? The article consists of three parts. Part I provides the analysis of international agreements containing provisions concerning demilitarization or neutralization of space, i.e. the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, the Moon Agreement of 1979, the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, the Environmental Modification Convention of 1977 as well as the Soviet — U.S. ABM Treaty of 1972. It follows from those acts that with the exception of the Moon and other celestial bodies, the military activity is not forbidden in space, unless it is related to the deployment of nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction. It is only the ABM Treaty which precludes development, testing and deployment of ABM systems or components which are space-based. Part II of the article is the continuation and extension of one of the issues discussed previously in Part I, which is the subject of particular controversies. It is the case of interpreting a phrase „exclusively for peaceful purposes" quoted in the Treaty of 1967 and in the Agreement of 1979. Are the peaceful purposes to be understood as non-agressive or non-military purposes? Does the order of using exclusively for peaceful purposes concern the moon and other heavenly bodies or the whole space? The extensive study of the problem confirms the statements contained in the Part I of the article, namely that the order of using exclusively for peaceful purposes stands for using exclusively for non-military purposes and that the said regulation is limited only to the moon and other celestial bodies. The de lege ferenda discussion of the scope of space demilitarization and neutralization is contained in Part III of the article. Considering the already existing passive forms of space militarization and practical lack chances whatsoever to eliminate them until decisive disarmament moves on the earth, the author suggests limiting the future solutions to the ban on deployment of any weapons both in space and those outside it but intended for use in space. The most favorable solution would also feature a general ban on developing and testing of any space-based weapon's as well as anti-satellite non-space based weapons. The neutralization of space could be introduced simultaneously with that type of demilitarization, i.e. the ban on resorting to the use of force both in space and from space. The article is concluded with the short characteristics of the recently submitted drafts of international agreements concerning the extension of the present scope of the ban on militarization of space. The. most suitable proposal in the author's opinion is the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Use of Force in Outer Space and from Space against the Earth, put forward by the Soviet Union in 1983Digitalizacja i deponowanie archiwalnych zeszytów RPEiS sfinansowane przez MNiSW w ramach realizacji umowy nr 541/P-DUN/201