ISSUE 3

The Use by Koligian of the ASAT Missile against Palver-2 is not contrary to

International Law

The applicant alleges that the respondent(Koligian) violated international law. However, the use of the ASAT missile against Palver 2 does not

contradict international law as It is in line with the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer

Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies(OST)(Art 4).1 , also it is in line with the rights and obligations of the respondent as

contained in the United Nations Charter2 and the damage of Palver 2 was inevitable

The Use of the ASAT Missile is in line with the OST

Koligian's action corresponds and is consistent with international law. The ratiocinations are as follows: first, the use of ASAT missile does not

contravene Article IV of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the

Moon and Other Celestial Bodies(hereinafter to be referred to as The OST) which prohibits states from placing in orbit around the earth any

objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station such

weapons in outer space in any other manner...

In the extant case The ASAT missile was not placed in orbit as objects placed in orbit around the earth signifies a measure of 'qualified

permanence'3. It is neither installed on celestial bodies nor stationed in any other manner in outer space Rather, it did a specific activity which

was the bringing down of the Palver 2 which was in orbit.

Many planets, moons, stars, meteors spacecraft and other objects in outer space orbit around each other. Electrons

also orbit around the nucleus of an atom. The Earth’s orbitaround the Sun takes one year to complete. In this case, the ASAT

missile was launched directly at Palver 2. It was not in orbit. Also the statement of fact called the ASAT missile a direct ascent ASAT missile.

This is not a weapon of mass destruction as it is not designed for mass destruction but specific and trageted purposes like bringing down a

satellite.

Also,the use of the ASAT is consistent with *the UN Charter, specifically a combined reading of Art 1(1) and Art 2(4) 4

1Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the
Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, entered into force Oct.10, 1967, 610 U.N.T.S. 205.
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The use of the ASAT Missile against Palver 2 amounts to the Removal of Threat to International Peace under the United Nations Charter

It is pertinent to note that the use of the Palvers by Agryliam is a threat to international peace by virtue of the UN Charter specifically Art 1(1)

and Art 2)4)5

In paragraphs 9 and 10 of the statement of facts, the destruction of Iriord-8 by Palver-3 left a vacuum in the telecommunication services of

Koligian 6. Koligian at paragraph 11 sent a diplomatic message to Argyliam concerning the "unprecedented and unlawful weaponization of outer

space" 7and a call for the suspension of aggressive military space activities of Argyliam to which Argyliam through its Foreign minister gave a

non-chalant reply8.

The non chalant reply went thus, " the responsibility for the unfortunate incident is entirely with the Koligian company Charalg Inc., which

recklessly provided us with false information"(whereas Art 6 places responsibility on Agryliam) thus exculpating themselves from liability9. As if

these unfortunate incidents were not enough, Palver 2 ceased responding to commands on May 11 2031 and was drifting towards a densely

populated orbit where some satellites registered in Koligian were placed. Also, there was a possibility, although slight, of the reactivation of the

laser beam as the beam was in an active state (see paragraph 12). Palver was expected to enter the densely populated orbit on the morning of

13th of May. In order to prevent any more damage and harm to the peaceful use of Space, an ASAT missile was launched by Koligian to end

Palver 2's "dance of death" (see paragraph 14) This action is not inconsistent with international law as it is tantamount to the prevention of

breach of peace and a removal of such threat to peace. The law for this ratiocination is Art. 1(1) if the UN Charter 10 which stipulates

categorically that one of the purposes of the UN is to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of the threats to the

peace and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace. Thus, Koligian did not breach Art. 2(4) of UN Charter which

states that Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force...in any other manner inconsistent with the

purposes of the UN. Koligian did something consistent with the purposes of the UN by removing the threat to international peace which was

the destruction of Palver 2 (see art 1(1) of UN Charter).

Thus the use of the ASAT missile against Palver 2 is tantamount to the removal of threat to international peace.

Issue 4

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 Koligan is not Liable under International Law for the Damage of Palver 2

Xenovia is not liable to Candidia for any alleged damages

In light of the conclusion in Issue 3 above that Koligian acted in accordance with international law, the issue of whether Koligian

is liable will now be addressed. Koligian is not liable for the damage alleged by Agryliam under the OST, 11 the Liability

Convention12 and the damage of Palver 2 was inevitable13.

A. Xenovia is Not Liable for the Damage of Palver 2 under the Outer Space Treaty

Respondent did not violate any of the provisions of the OST and is therefore not internationally liable for the damage of Pal ver 2.

Respondent is not at fault for the damages caused to Applicant’s space object as Applicant’s own negligence caused the damage.

B. Respondent Is Not Liable for the Damage of Palver 2 under Article III of the Liability Convention.

A separate regime of liability is established under LIAB which builds on the Article VII OST liability regime14.

The Liability Convention of 1972 deals specifically with issues of liability, developing the notion in Article VI of the OST 15. The

Respondent takes cognizance of the legal maxim lex specialis derogat legi generali, which states that a more specific law governing a

particular legal issue takes precedence over a general law. As a State Party to the Liability Convention, Respondent is bound to the outer-

space specific description of liability adopted in the treaty. 16

According to Article III of the Liability Convention, in the event of damage being caused elsewhere than on the surface of the Earth to a

space object of a launching State by a space object of another launching State, the latter shall be liable only if the damage is due to its

fault.17

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14 Armel Kerrest and Lesley Jane Smith, Article II (LIAB) in II COLOGNE COMMENTARY ON SPACE LAW 119 (Hobe et.
al., eds., 2009)).
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The question that begs an answer is “is koligian at fault for the damage of Palver 2?” The answer is negative because the

respondent(koligian) is not liable to Applicant for the damage of Palver 2 under Article III of the Liability Convention, because the

damage caused is not due to Respondent’s fault.

1. Respondent cannot be liable as it was not at fault.

Article III LIAB establishes a fault-based liability regime for damage caused in outer space18. Although the concept of ‘fault’ is uncommon

in international law,19 Koligian submits that fault means a breach of an international obligation, done intentionally or with negligence. As

above and Koligian did not breach any of its international obligations in conducting a

The Applicant’s claim against Respondent under Article III of the Liability Convention is unsustainable, as the damage caused to

Palver 2 was not due to Respondent’s fault. Article III of the Convention provides: “In the event of damage being caused

elsewhere than on the surface of the earth to a space object of one launching State… by a space object of another launching State,

the latter shall be liable only if the damage is due to its fault or the fault of persons for whom it is responsible.” 20

Respondent was merely exercising her duty of ensuring International Peace. Palver 2 was a threat to this peace as stated in i ssue

3.21 The action of Koligian in destroying Palver 2 was solely to prevent it from exploding especially since it was moving towards a

densely populated area and agryliam could not control it.

In order to establish fault and causation, recourse would be taken to principles of General international law 22. The OST and liability

convention do not define fault.

The principal obligation of States with a fault standard is due diligence 23. Due diligence is the standard of care used by a state acting in

good faith towards its neighbors. Koligian acted in good towards its neighbors. A carefusal of the extant case shows that agrliam had in

the past caused great destruction in space with same Palver 2. It must be noted that they denied responsibility for their act ions with the

defense that charalgh provided them with the wrong information. Now, they have lost total control of the same object that caused great

destruction in the past.

Koligian was only doing her due diligence by ensuring that she protects international peace as the damage of Palver 2 was ine vitable but

the damage it would have caused in space was avoided by Koligian. Hence koligian cannot bear liability as it only performed its duty in

line with the spirit and letters of international law.

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Assuming but not conceding that Koligian was at fault under Article 111 of the LIAB, Koligian is still exculpated from absolute

liability under Section V11 of the LIAB

The launch of ASAT against Palver 2 was an Act of Self Defense

It must be noted that Palver is a weapon of mass destruction. This has been established in the statement of fact where it caused a huge

destruction to the earth orbit during the Irriod 8 case. It must also be noted that the destruction was done irrespective of the data given

be Chaldean. It was on a greater route of destruction possibly the worst that outer space have experienced. It was moving uncontrolled

towards a densely populated area with over 150 satellites most of which were in a constellation. These satellites provide global internet

services including airtime and maritime use. There was an impeding danger on Koligian, on outer space, on lives, space objects and the

economy of other states including Koligian’s. It is only a fool or a paralyzed state that would sit and watch the same object that caused it

great economic loss cause an even greater loss. Thus the action of Koligian in launching the Direct Ascent ASAT weapon was an act of self

defense, it is a very smart and proportionate action. There are other type of ASAT missiles like the Nuclear Powered ASAT weapon which

would have made them liable under Art 3 of the OST but they launched the Direct Ascent which uses Kinetic energy thus Koligian cannot

be liable for damage of Palver 2 as its action was self defense which is in line with Customary International Law.

2. The Damage of Palver 2 was Inevitable

It is inevitable that Palver 2 would be damaged even before the ASAT missile was launched. From the statement of fact, it can be gleaned

from para 12 of the statement of fact that Agryliam unexpectedly lost control of Palver 2 thus control could not be restored and there was

a possibility of spontaneous activation.24

The claimant might argue that it was just a 3% chance that Palver 3 would explode but “In the meantime, the uncontrolled Palver-2 was

drifting toward a densely populated orbit, in which there were 150 functioning satellites. Most of these satellites were in a constellation

operated by an international consortium to provide global Internet services, including for aircraft and maritime use. The individual

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satellites were registered in several states, including, five registered in Koligian. Palver-2 was expected to enter this orbit on 13 May

2031 which was 3 days later. Palver 2 was already moving towards its own destruction and that of other satellites in constellation. In

paragraph 13, Agryliam declared on the 11th of may, 2 days away from the that she would commit the utter negligence of launch ing the

SSV which “had not yet been launched and tested in space”. Thereby contravening the provisions of… One thing is certain, Palver 2 was

uncontrolled and would be damaged in 2 days. If nothing was to be done, not only will it be damaged, other satellites will be and this

would definitely lead to mass destruction of space objects, injury on the earth surface and general threat to peace internationally. Either

way it would be damaged. Thus Koligan can not be said to be at fault rather Agryliam is. Thereby liability can not result from this.

Applicant did not act in good faith