Interstellar Law – Ius gentium for new worlds

Descripción

«Interstellar Law» by Daniel García San José explores the necessity of creating a legal framework to regulate humanity’s interaction with extraterrestrial intelligent life. It argues that as scientific and technological advancements bring us closer to discovering and potentially communicating with extraterrestrial beings, current international space law is insufficient to address these scenarios.

The book is divided into four main chapters:

1. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligent Beings (SETI)
   It examines scientific efforts to detect extraterrestrial intelligence and explores the implications of post-biological and artificial intelligence civilizations. It emphasizes that any discovered beings would likely be far more technologically advanced than humans and may not follow Darwinian evolution.

2. From International Law of Outer Space to Interstellar Law
   This chapter critiques the current legal regime governing outer space (established during the Cold War) and highlights its lack of provisions for SETI and METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence). It calls for a new approach to these activities within international law.

3. The Fundamentals of Interstellar Law
   It proposes a kinetic theory of international law as a foundation for interstellar law, with «ius communicationis» (the right to communicate) serving as its core principle. It warns against unilateral actions by individual states or private entities and advocates for coordinated, global strategies.

4. A Long-Term Strategy: Ius Communicationis of Humankind as Ius Gentium for New Worlds
   The final chapter frames communication with extraterrestrials as a modern expression of «ius gentium» (law of nations), rooted in natural law and shared rationality. It draws inspiration from the classical Spanish School of international law (Vitoria, Suárez) and proposes that interstellar law be developed through global consensus and soft law instruments like UN declarations, aiming toward eventual customary international law.

Conclusion:
The author envisions «interstellar law» as a necessary evolution of international space law to protect humanity’s collective interests and promote peaceful, respectful engagement with extraterrestrial civilizations—should such contact ever occur.