Allocation and Attribution of Commercial Space Activities in Armed Conflict

The involvement of commercial space into an armed conflict between two opposing states might bring misunderstandings and misperceptions between the neutral state and the affected belligerent state. It also raises legal concerns about the allocation of the responsibility under space law and the attribution of commercial space activities under the law of state responsibility, Which are always confused with each other. The existing approaches are not sufficient to address the complexity. This paper proposes a new approach to determine attribution in the context of commercial involvement, namely ‘line segment theory’ and ‘proportionality theory’. The theories leverage the different types of commercial space services and their sensitivity levels to provide corresponding standards for attribution, while taking account of the subjective status and preventive measures that have been taken by the responsible state. The theories offer a balanced approach to consider both the legal principles of ‘genuine connection’ and ‘incentive mechanisms’ to avert unnecessary burdens imposing to states and to assure states have adequate motivations to properly supervise its national space activities. States should embark on such legal discussions to seek for symmetry of their legal positions and subsequently avert miscalculations and mistrusts.