ORBITAL SOVEREIGNTY, DUAL-USE SATELLITES AND INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: Dual use, critical infrastructure, strategic dependence and international responsibility in outer space

Silvio Moreira Alves Júnior

No 8a7ct_v1, LawArchive from Center for Open Science

Abstract: This article proposes orbital sovereignty as a functional category for understanding terrestrial dependence on space systems without turning outer space into appropriable territory. The central problem concerns dual-use satellites, which may provide essential civilian services while simultaneously supporting military communications, intelligence, navigation, remote sensing and targeting. The study brings together international space law, the United Nations Charter, international humanitarian law, State responsibility, the space liability regime and the Theory of Dynamic Adaptive Warfare (TDAW), the English rendering of the author's TGDA framework. It argues that the legal characterization of orbital interference must be contextual and function- and effects-based. During armed conflict, military use does not automatically erase civilian functions or dispense with the rules governing military objectives, proportionality and precautions. Outside armed conflict, due regard, continuing State supervision, radiocommunication rules and the prohibition on the use of force remain relevant. The article further distinguishes responsibility for national space activities, attribution of private conduct to a State and the specific liability regime for damage caused by space objects. As an original contribution, it presents an eleven-factor matrix for dual-use orbital infrastructure and uses TDAW as a complementary strategic framework while keeping probability of action distinct from legal permissibility.

Date: 2026-10-30
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:lawarc:8a7ct_v1

DOI: 10.31228/osf.io/8a7ct_v1

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