Imagination and the international law: Book review: Bohlander M. Contact with extraterrestrial intelligence and human law: The applicability of rules of war and human rights. Leiden : Brill, 2023

This article is a review of the book, written by the German lawyer and international judge M.Bohlander, dedicated to the search for contacts with extraterrestrial civilizations. The author constructs a number of concepts with the help of which such research is given a legal dimension. In particular, this concerns the concept of “metalaw”, which is a certain set of norms and principles applicable in relations with artificial intelligence. The existing international legal regulation of this issue is clarified. Based on futurological works and science fiction, the author of the book tries to identify weak points in the existing regulatory framework, which hypothetically can become an insurmountable obstacle in the event of contact with aliens from other worlds or significantly damage it. The existing array of international human rights law and international humanitarian law is analyzed for the extent to which existing norms are designed for their application by other intelligent beings, besides humans. International crimes (crime of aggression, genocide) are also analyzed in terms of their possible reformatting in new conditions. Referring to sources of international space law, in particular the Declaration of Principles Relating to Actions Following the Detection of Extraterrestrial Intelligence of 1989 (as amended in 2010), approved by the International Astronautical Academy and the International Institute of Space Law, the author notes a number of provisions that oblige the parties that signed this Declaration not to respond to signals from outside without first receiving instructions and consent from the UN. However, in general, he comes to the conclusion that the existing international legal system is not ready to meet with representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations. The final point in the discussion about the direction in which international law, in particular international criminal law, should be developed is apparently a matter for the future, which will answer the questions outlined in the study under review.