Abstract
If extra-terrestrial life was detected, this would inevitably raise a number of legal issues. The most important ones may actually shake the very foundations of ‘the law’ as a man-made instrument designed to regulate human behavior in one form or another, given that by definition we would be encountering non-human life. The actual extent of challenges to the concept of ‘the law’ however would also depend upon the level of intelligence and advancement of such extra-terrestrial life. Firstly, it might be much less intelligent and advanced than human life, in which case it would likely have no concept such as ‘law’. Should this mean that we humans could treat these extraterrestrials as animals, as objects of the law with rights requiring advocacy rather than agents with the capacity to speak for themselves? Secondly, extraterrestrial life may be roughly as intelligent and advanced as human life, in which case it is likely to have a concept similar to the concept of law. In which case humanity should probably strive for a compromise ‘meta-law’, arranging the respective spheres of application of human-made law and the comparable extra-terrestrial system. Finally, extra-terrestrial life may be much more intelligent and advanced than we are—in which case humanity is in trouble. The applicability of our concocted terrestrial law, vis-à-vis those extra-terrestrials, or even amongst ourselves, would depend on such extraterrestrial life. Humanity could end up being the ‘object’ of their system of ‘law’, or whatever has taken its place. (A scenario which is reminiscent of the zoo hypothesis: the idea we are here as an object for the observation of superior forms of intelligence.)
The original version of the book was revised: The copyright in the source line of Chapter 18 was missed to be updated. The erratum to this chapter is available at 10.1007/978-3-319-39827-3_19
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Notes
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- 2.
- 3.
Thus, ‘revolution’ has been defined as “an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an established government or political system by the people governed”, alternatively “a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure, especially one made suddenly and often accompanied by violence”; as per http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/revolution?s=t.
- 4.
See already Art. 2(1), UN Charter (Charter of the United Nations, San Francisco, done 26 June 1945, entered into force 24 October 1945; USTS 993; 24 UST 2225; 59 Stat. 1031; 145 UKTS 805; UKTS 1946 No. 67; Cmd. 6666 & 6711; CTS 1945 No. 7; ATS 1945 No. 1), which posits territorial sovereignty of states as perhaps the most fundamental tenet of the international legal order—even to this day.
- 5.
See Arts. 39, 41 & 42, UN Charter. The five states referred to are the United States, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, France and China.
- 6.
Cf. Art. 38(1)(a), ICJ Statute (Statute of the International Court of Justice, San Francisco, done 26 June 1945, entered into force 24 October 1945; 156 UNTS 77; USTS 993; 59 Stat. 1031; UKTS 1946 No. 67; ATS 1945 No. 1).
- 7.
Cf. Art. 38(1)(b), ICJ Statute.
- 8.
Thus, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was established in 1958/1959 to discuss legal issues resulting from outer space activities and come forward with proposals for developing relevant law at the international level.
- 9.
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space Treaty), London/Moscow/Washington, done 27 January 1967, entered into force 10 October 1967; 610 UNTS 205; TIAS 6347; 18 UST 2410; UKTS 1968 No. 10; Cmnd. 3198; ATS 1967 No. 24; 6 ILM 386 (1967).
- 10.
See in particular Arts. I-IV, Outer Space Treaty.
- 11.
Cf. Arts. VI, VII, Outer Space Treaty.
- 12.
Major examples thereof concern the United States, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and France, but also smaller states such as South Korea, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria.
- 13.
Cf. Arts. VI, XIII, Outer Space Treaty.
- 14.
See Art. I, Outer Space Treaty.
- 15.
See Art. IX, Outer Space Treaty.
- 16.
Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (Rescue Agreement), London/Moscow/Washington, done 22 April 1968, entered into force 3 December 1968; 672 UNTS 119; TIAS 6599; 19 UST 7570; UKTS 1969 No. 56; Cmnd. 3786; ATS 1986 No. 8; 7 ILM 151 (1968).
- 17.
Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (Liability Convention), London/Moscow/Washington, done 29 March 1972, entered into force 1 September 1972; 961 UNTS 187; TIAS 7762; 24 UST 2389; UKTS 1974 No. 16; Cmnd. 5068; ATS 1975 No. 5; 10 ILM 965 (1971).
- 18.
Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (Registration Convention), New York, done 14 January 1975, entered into force 15 September 1976; 1023 UNTS 15; TIAS 8480; 28 UST 695; UKTS 1978 No. 70; Cmnd. 6256; ATS 1986 No. 5; 14 ILM 43 (1975).
- 19.
Cf. e.g. Arts. I, II, III, Outer Space Treaty.
- 20.
Constitution of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU Constitution), Geneva, done 22 December 1992, entered into force 1 July 1994; 1825 UNTS 1; UKTS 1996 No. 24; Cm. 2539; ATS 1994 No. 28; Final Acts of the Additional Plenipotentiary Conference, Geneva, 1992 (1993), at 1.
- 21.
Convention of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU Convention), Geneva, done 22 December 1992, entered into force 1 July 1994; 1825 UNTS 1; UKTS 1996 No. 24; Cm. 2539; ATS 1994 No. 28; Final Acts of the Additional Plenipotentiary Conference, Geneva, 1992 (1993), at 71.
- 22.
Cf. Arts. 4(3), 6, ITU Constitution.
- 23.
See Arts. 1(2), 44, ITU Convention; Art. 7, ITU Convention.
- 24.
Cf. Art. 1.13, 1.58, Radio Regulations.
- 25.
While the sovereignty of states as perhaps the most fundamental structural rule of international law is reflected in many legal documents (including e.g. the aforementioned Art. 2(1)1, UN Charter), e.g. Art. 2(4), UN Charter, specifically protects political independence of any state against any forceful interference by another state.
- 26.
See Preamble, UN Charter.
- 27.
See Art. 51, also Art. 1, UN Charter.
- 28.
Art. 51, UN Charter, reads: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defense shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
- 29.
Currently, the United Nation counts 193 member states; see http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/overview/index.html, http://www.un.org/en/members/growth.shtml.
- 30.
See Arts. 9–22, UN Charter.
- 31.
Cf. Arts. 13–14, UN Charter.
- 32.
See Arts. 23–32, UN Charter.
- 33.
See in particular Arts. 23(1), 27(3), UN Charter.
- 34.
Cf. Arts. 39–46, in particular Art. 42, UN Charter.
- 35.
- 36.
See United Nations Report of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Fifty-third session (9–18 June 2010), A/65/20, §§ 136–142.
- 37.
See “Legal aspects of NEO threat response and related institutional issues”, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Final Report, 9 February 2010, § 4.
- 38.
The United Nations is, after all, still an intergovernmental, not a supranational organization of sovereign member states.
- 39.
In a sense, this mirrors the current role of international public law respectively private international law as, inter alia, accommodating the various national law regimes wherever international aspects or elements are involved, albeit at a conceptually higher level of course.
- 40.
Cf. for outer space Arts. II, I, Outer Space Treaty; and for the high seas Art. 87, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Montego Bay, done 10 December 1982, entered into force 16 November 1994; 1833 UNTS 3 & 1835 UNTS 261; UKTS 1999 No. 81; Cmnd. 8941; ATS 1994 No. 31; 21 ILM 1261 (1982); S. Treaty Doc. No. 103-39.
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© 2016 Frans G. von der Dunk
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von der Dunk, F.G. (2016). Shaking the Foundations of the Law: Some Legal Issues Posed by a Detection of Extra-Terrestrial Life. In: Schwartz, J., Milligan, T. (eds) The Ethics of Space Exploration. Space and Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39827-3_18
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