First MILAMOS Workshop in Adelaide, Australia, Discusses International Law and Military Space Activities

Monday, February 27, 2017

SWF Director of Program Planning Dr. Brian Weeden participated in the first of a planned nine workshops to develop a Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Use of Outer Space (MILAMOS), which was held in Adelaide, Australia, February 20-22, 2017. The workshop brought together more than 50 international legal experts,  technical experts, and researchers to begin drafting rules on international law and military uses of space.  The MILAMOS project was co-founded by McGill University in Canada and the University of Adelaide in Australia. Dr. Weeden participated as a technical expert advising the group focused on international law and use of force. The participants discussed draft rules on a variety of subjects, including: 

  • Application of international law to outer space, especially in the context of military uses of outer space
  • The prohibition on the threat or use of force in international law on the use of force as it applies to outer space
  • The principle of non-intervention in international law on the use of force as it applies to outer space
  • Application of International Humanitarian Law to outer space
  • The principle of distinction in International Humanitarian Law, as it applies to outer space
  • Delimitation of outer space and airspace
  • The meaning of "international armed conflict" as it applies to outer space and how, as a matter of law, an armed conflict may be regarded as internationalised in the context of outer space
  • Legal rules about perfidy and ruses in the context of armed conflict in outer space
  • The principle of non-appropriation in international space law, especially in the context of military uses of outer space
  • A definition of "military space activities" to explain the scope of military uses of outer space that will be encompassed by the manual

The next meeting is expected to be held in India in June 2017. More details can be found at the McGill University website. 

Last updated on February 27, 2017