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The Benefits of an ICoC
There are several advantages to a potential ICoC. First, because it is in the
state's best interest; if not, it will not be followed. Non-legally binding tools
and frameworks are often useful in a sense that they provide a level of
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flexibility, which is not possible with binding treaties. As has been seen with
norms of behaviour that have been developed in other domains, these rules
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can be amended with relative ease as circumstances change. This allows
various options to be tested before formal agreements are sought.
Furthermore, non-binding tools can be used as a mechanism for
harmonising national laws and practices, allowing states to move towards
adherence, while keeping within their economic and technological
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capacities. Non-legally binding tools and frameworks would permit
incremental movement towards solutions on issues that need to be addressed
in a timely manner, especially on those issues where political obstacles can
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make the negotiation of legal instruments a protracted process.
For example, one of the most important CoCs is the Hague Code of
Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC). The HCoC is aimed
at bolstering efforts to curb ballistic missile proliferation worldwide and to
further delegitimise such proliferation. The HCOC consists of a set of
general principles, modest commitments, and limited confidence-building
measures. It is intended to supplement, not supplant, the Missile Technology
Control Regime (MTCR), and is administered collectively by all of the
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Subscribing States”. HCOC was “formally brought into effect on
November 25, 2002, at a Launching Conference hosted by the Netherlands
at The Hague. The U.S. actively participated in the conference and is one of
the original Subscribing States to HCOC (formerly known as the
International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation -
ICOC). The HCOC has been signed by more states than the Outer Space
Treaty (OST), though it is not legally binding. As of January 2014, 138
countries have subscribed to HCOC.
Because of the lack of progress on legally binding instruments within
traditional fora, combined with a sense of urgency on the part of the
international community to address stability and sustainability issues in cyber
security and space security, alternative options are being sought by
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policymakers to address threats in cyber space. “It is this drive for progress
104 | Awaiting Launch: Perspectives on the Draft ICoC for Outer Space Activities