In this episode, Dr Eve Massingham talks with Professor Dale Stephens CSM about law and war in outer space. They discuss the legal regime for outer space, what it says about military activities and how developments in technology are impacting these. They specifically discuss autonomy in space – both in relation to weapons and other activities such as the extraction of space debris, consider the legal liability regime for launching objects into space and contemplate the challenges of infrastructure in space serving both military and civilian purposes.
Dr Dale Stephens is a Professor at Adelaide Law School and a Captain in the Royal Australian Navy Reserve who spent over 20 years as a permanent officer in the Royal Australian Navy. Dale’s legal and military career has seen him work on a range of military law and international law topics, as well as see operational military service in East Timor and Iraq. Dale is an Editor and Board Member of the forthcoming Woomera Manual of International Law of Military Space Operations and is widely published on the topic of space law.
Further reading:
- Dale Stephens, 'Law and War in Outer Space' (2018) 40(2) Law Society of SA Bulletin 32
- Dale Stephens (with Cassandra Steer), 'Conflicts in Space: International Humanitarian Law and its Application to Space Warfare' (2015) Vol XL Annals of Air and Space Law 71.
- Dale Stephens, 'The International Legal Implications of Military Space Operations: Examining the Interplay between International Humanitarian Law and the Outer Space Legal Regime ' (2018) 94 International Legal Studies 75.
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