International Humanitarian Law and Dual-Use Assets: The Legal Status and Protection of Satellites in International and Non-International Armed Conflicts

ppOrganisation/Company Università di Torino Research Field Juridical sciences Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Leading Researcher (R4) First Stage Researcher (R1) Established Researcher (R3) Application Deadline 13 Oct 2026 - 13:00 (UTC) Country Italy Type of Contract To be defined Job Status Not Applicable Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No /p h3Offer Description /h3 pContemporary armed conflicts increasingly depend on space infrastructure. Satellites for positioning, telecommunications, Earth observation and meteorology simultaneously support civilian activities and military operations, placing them in a grey area of international humanitarian law (IHL), which presupposes a clear distinction between military objectives and civilian objects. Recent practice – the cyberattack against the Viasat KA-SAT network, the use of commercial constellations for tactical communications, reliance on privately operated satellite imagery for intelligence and anti-satellite weapons testing – has made this issue urgent. The research will reconstruct IHL principles applicable to dual-use objects (satellites in particular), assessing their interaction with the law of outer space, to develop a coherent analytical framework on the status of such assets in armed conflict. The project includes scientific events at UniTO and the publication of an article in a law journal. /p pMandatory requirement for admission to the selection: italian Laurea Magistrale, or Laurea a Ciclo Unico, or an equivalent degree from foreign Universities, obtained no more than 6 years prior to the application deadline (i.e obtained after 13/10/2020). The Call for Applications (published on the University Bulletin Board under ref. no. 4686 of 21/09/2026), containing the procedures to participate in the selection process and the specific requirements for each selection, is available at . /p ulliItaly /li /ul h3Eligibility of fellows: country/ies of residence: /h3 ulliAll /li /ul h3Eligibility of fellows: nationality/ies: /h3 /p #J-18808-Ljbffr