II. Development of legal instruments to prevent the arms racein outer space, its demilitarization and existing legal acts inthis area

When the Soviet Union put the first artificial earth satellite to orbit in 1957, itlaunched[7] the epochal space race of superpowers. However, at the same time,the international community realized that in order to develop space peacefully andsafely, states should acquire legal instruments with help of which it could be possible to establish proper legal regime for outer space and celestial bodies.

These are the main steps of the United Nations aimed at solving this problem:

А) 1958: the establishment of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of OuterSpace (COPUOS) and the design of its structure (UNGA Resolution No.1472)[8].

Its original membership consisted of the following countries: Australia, Austria,Albania, Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China,Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Poland,Romania, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The UnitedStates of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France,Czechoslovakia, Sweden and Japan.

The duties of the committee include the promotion of space exploration, mutualinformation exchange of data on these studies, and elimination of problems thatmay arise during the study of outer space.

B) 1963: UNGA Resolution No. 1884 (A/RES/18/1884) — «Question ofgeneral and complete disarmament»[9].

Since the intentions of the United Nations on the peaceful use of outer spacedid not find wide support among the states, in 1963 the United States ofAmerica and the USSR expressed their intention not to station any objects carrying nuclear weapons or other kinds of weapons of massdestruction in outer space. The General Assembly supported this proposal and called upon allstates to refrain from placing weapons of mass destruction in outer space.

This decision of the General Assembly plays a crucial role in the issue of thearms race.

C) 1963: Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in OuterSpace and Under Water[10].

The initial parties to the treaty were the governments of the USSR, theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Statesof America. They were the states which determined the purpose of this agreement, with this consensus being the earliest example ofreaching an agreement on general andcomplete disarmament. Universal obedience to this goal[11] would finally put anend to the arms race and eliminate production and testing of nuclear weapons.Experts consider these tests and the use of weapons of mass destruction harmfulto humanity and to the environment.

According to this agreement, each party is obliged to prohibit and preventtest explosions of weapons in the atmosphere (including outer space) and underwater.

Moreover, this is the first source of binding norms of international law in thisfield. At the moment[12] it was signed by 131 states[13]; among the non-aligned ones areChina, France and North Korea.

D) 1966: Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the

Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other CelestialBodies (Outer Space Treaty)[14].

This agreement provides a basic list of principles of international space law.

Article 1 of the Treaty establishes the provision that outer space shall be theprovince of all mankind. Article 2 of the Treaty prohibits national appropriationof any areas of space, does not allow the establishment of the sovereignty of anystate over the heavenly bodies. Article 4 establishes the principle according to which themember states of the Treaty undertake not to place any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction into earth orbit, or install such weapons on celestial bodies or station weapons in outerspace.

Together with the Treaty of 1963, the Outer Space Treaty provides a legal regimefor a nuclear-free zone around the Earth, namely introduces ban on deploying military bases oncelestial bodies, testing any weapons and conducting military maneuvers.

Article 9 of the Outer Space Treaty of 1966 establishes the following importantprovision: «If a State Party to the Treaty has reason to believe that an activity orexperiment planned by another State Party in outer space, including the Moonand other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference withactivities in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the Moonand other celestial bodies, may request consultation concerning such activities or experiments». It is also important to note that the Parties shall have thepossibility to request the right to have a launching State to observe space objectslaunched.

E) 1972 — Treaty between the United States of America and the USSR on theLimitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems[15].

In this agreement, the states declared their intention to stop the arms raceand to take effective measures towards achieving complete nucleardisarmament. They expressed their desire to contribute to the relaxation ofinternational tension in order to strengthen trust between the states.

Both the United States of America and the Soviet Union undertake not tocreate an anti-missile defense system both on their territory and on the territoryof other states.

The agreement also specifies the components of the anti-ballistic missile defensesystem that are in combat composition, under construction, testing and repair,and those that are temporarily suspended.

However, each of the statesparties to the treaty may have no more than15 ABM systems at the test sites in aggregate.

Not only is this legal act is important for limiting the race of strategic offensive and defensive weapons, but it also addresses the emergence of shock space weaponsand the militarization of outer space. However, on June 13, 2012, the UnitedStates of America denounced the Treaty.

F) 1977: The Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any OtherHostile Use of Environmental Modification Facilities[16].

According to this Convention, it is prohibited to use means of influence in outerspace, as well as from outer space, on the Earth's natural environment formilitary or any other hostile purposes, which may have broad, long-term andserious consequences, as ways to destroy, damage or cause harm to any otherState Party. The term "environmental impact" used in Article 1 should beunderstood as any attempt to deliberately control natural processes — thedynamics, composition or structure of the Earth, including its biota, lithosphere,hydrosphere, atmosphere and outer space.

G) 1979: Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon andOther Celestial Bodies[17].

This treaty specified the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty of 1966 inrelation to the Moon and the celestial bodies of the Solar System.

Article 3 of the Treaty introduces a ban on the placement of weapons of massdestruction, military bases, the admission of tests of any weapons and militarymaneuvers on the Moon.

The Treaty also fixes the provision under which a state party to the treaty is obliged to notify the UN Secretary-General of theplacement of radioactive materials on the surface of the Moon and thepurposes of such deployment.

Thus, all activities related to the use of outer space for military purposes inaccordance with the existing norms of international law can be divided intothree categories.

1. The category of permitted activities includes:

• The use of observation satellites and space-based remote sensing devices tomonitor compliance with contracts and agreements in the field of arms control;

• Use of space communication, navigation, mapping and meteorologicalsupport for military use;

• Use of military personnel for scientific research for peaceful purposes.

2. The category of prohibited activities in space includes:

• Placement of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction inorbits around the Earth, on celestial bodies and orbits around such bodies;

• Testing of nuclear weapons in outer space;

• The deployment of military bases and military trials and maneuvers oncelestial bodies and orbits around them;

• Military or hostile use of means of influence on natural environment fromouter space.

3. The category of activities not regulated by international law in spaceincludes:

• Creation, testing and deployment of anti-satellite weapons;

• Development, testing and deployment of anti-ballistic missile defense systems,space-based systems or their components;

• Conducting military-applied experiments in space;

• Creation and deployment in space of means of optical and electronicsuppression of space, air and ground-based technical means;

• Creation and deployment in space of weapons based on new physicalprinciples, which cannot be attributed to weapons of mass destruction, andaimed at destroying objects in space, in the Earth's atmosphere and on itssurface.

Nevertheless, the listed agreements have not resolved the emerging issues.

1) Who will control the non-proliferation of space weapons? How will thesemeasures of control be achieved?

2) How should such objects be registered?

3) What is the responsibility of states for placing weapons of mass destructionand defeat in outer space?

The main issue, however, is that despite all the measures undertaken so far, thereis no definitive ban on the use of space weapons. In fact, only the use and testingof nuclear weapons in space is prohibited.