STATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NON-STATE ACTORS IN TIMES OF WAR: ARTICLE VI OF THE OUTER SPACE TREATY AND THE LAW OF NEUTRALITY

摘要

Non-State space actors are more numerous and more complex than they have ever been. Foreign hosted payloads and the sale of non-State space actors to foreign States were not envisioned at the time of the signing and ratification of the space treaties.330 These events have occurred recently and will almost certainly continue to occur. During the time it took to write this article, Intelsat both began merger talks with a startup space corporation, One Web,331 and the merger subsequently fell through.332 This article does not include an analysis of the law of neutrality implications of this merger as both Intelsat and One Web are based in the United States333 and, even if it were not, the analysis would have been similar to the Canada/U.S. analysis with DigitalGlobe. However, this serves as another example of how quickly space non-State actors are evolving and responding to market pressures. The plain text of Article VI would indicate that States bear international responsibility as soon as a non-State actor acts, even if it implicates that State's neutrality. A better interpretation when issues of war are implicated, is that States must affirmatively approve of its non-State actor's actions prior to the State's neutrality being implicated. War is different. States should not be dragged into war on a technicality.