Military blueprints by major space-faring powers now encapsulate concepts of 'space support' and 'force enhancement' which point to a central role of space assets in facilitating military operations while notions of 'space control' and 'force application' suggest the weaponization of space, and the putative view that space may in the near future be a theatre of military operations. As defence goals increasingly focus on space as the final frontier evident in development of national missile defence systems, anti-satellite weapons and other space-based systems, international peace and security faces a new challenge. Creators of the current legal regime for space failed to foresee the rapid rate at which technological and engineering breakthroughs would take place. Now the shortcomings in the current regime beg the question of how the law can keep up and address space technology. It is imperative that the international community act now rather than later. In light of the existing lacunae in the international space law regime, this Article seeks to explore avenues/paradigms through which the militarization of space may be regulated and its weaponization addressed.

Ao longo dos tempos, os conflitos armados têm sempre causado significativa destruição do ambiente. Até recentemente, isso era visto como uma conseqüência infeliz, mas inevitável, apesar do desastroso impacto sobre as populações humanas. No entanto, à medida que a natureza e a extensão dos direitos ambientais passaram a ser mais amplamente reconhecidas, a devastação deliberada do ambiente como parte dos objetivos estratégicos e militares deixou de ser aceitável - principalmente após o desenvolvimento de armas capazes de causar danos graves e duradouros em vastas áreas. Este artigo demonstra que, em determinadas circunstâncias, a destruição deliberada do ambiente durante uma guerra deve ser vista como " Crime contra o Meio Ambiente" , passível de responsabilização penal internacional. Examina também as normas jurídicas internacionais que se aplicam à proteção do ambiente no curso de conflitos armados e analisa até que ponto o Tribunal Penal Internacional tem competência para julgar atos que prejudicam de maneira significativa os direitos ambientais das populações visadas.

Since the first space object was launched into orbit in 1957, humankind has been engaged in a constant effort to realise ever more ambitious plans for space travel. Probably the single most important element in this ongoing evolution is the development of technology capable of transporting large numbers of passengers into outer space on a commercial basis. Within the foreseeable future, space will no longer be the sole domain of professionally trained astronauts or the exceptionally wealthy. The prospects for both suborbital and orbital private human access to space give rise to some interesting and difficult legal questions. It also opens up an exciting opportunity to develop an adequate system of legal regulation to deal with these activities. The existing international legal regimes covering air and space activities are not well suited to large-scale commercial access to space, largely because they were developed at a time when such activities were not a principal consideration in the mind of the drafters. The lack of legal clarity represents a major challenge and must be addressed as soon as possible, to provide for appropriate standards and further encourage (not discourage) such activities. This article will examine some of the more pressing legal issues associated with the regulation of space transportation of passengers on a commercial basis, seen in the light of Article 1 of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which states that the 'exploration and use of outer space [y] shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries [y] and shall be the province of all mankind'. An appropriate balance must be found between the commercial and technological opportunities that will arise and the principles upon which the development of international space law have thus far been based.

During history every medium-air, land and sea-has seen conflict. Contemporary reality indicates that space will be no different. The notion of space warfare is becoming 'a virtual certainty' 2[T]he lawful bearing of arms-under a strict code of military justice and within a corpus of humanitarian law-has been accepted as a practical necessity 3[The humanitarian law of armed conflict] applies to all forms of warfare and to all kinds of weapons, those of the past, those of the present and those of the future 4

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