Oceans to Orbits: Challenging Naval Exceptionalism - Modernizing the Law of Naval Warfare for Conflict at Sea, on Land and in Space 

The International Law Reading Group (ILRG) is happy to announce a session as part of its Early Career Research Exchange (ECRE) Series, hosting Himanil Raina, who is a PhD candidate at the Geneva Graduate Institute, Department of International Law. Himanil will be presenting his research on the applicable jus in bello governing outer space warfare . The ILRG is looking forward to discussing and exchanging ideas on this exciting topic!

 

The full abstract of Himanil's research could be found below:

The research seeks to answer the question of what is the applicable jus in bello governing outer space warfare (OSW)? Breaking from the prevailing consensus (seen in the Woomera Manual and ICRC as well), which treats the law of land warfare (LLW) as the principal regulatory framework, I reorient the analytic lens to demonstrate how the LNW both enables the application of Additional Protocol I (AP I) to OSW and offers an independent regulatory regime in the LLW’s shadow zones. These blind spots include its non-coverage of non-landward effects, its inter se belligerent orientation and its inadequate regulation of reverberating/indirect harm.

The LLW’s bilateralist logic and dyadic nature render it structurally ill-suited to a domain where third party rights and the global commons must be foregrounded. By contrast, the LNW’s triangular logic – operationalized through the obligation of due regard, offers a more structurally coherent fit with the corpus of space law and provides greater protections in shared domains. Reasoning analogically from the shared status of outer space and the high seas as res extra commercium, I seek to argue that The LLW’s bilateralist logic and dyadic nature render it structurally ill-suited to a domain where third party rights and the global commons must be foregrounded. By contrast, the LNW’s triangular logic – operationalized through the obligation of due regard, offers a more structurally coherent fit with the corpus of space law and provides greater protections in shared domains. Reasoning analogically from the shared status of outer space and the high seas as res extra commercium.