Which legal body for this?

[Omits]

A human is abducted (w/o any other Human knowing) by an Alien AI to a Spaceship (no real Aliens). It requests this person to represent the Arrival (currently undetected) to Humanity. The person agrees. Given that the legal aspect of that persons position is probably vague at international level and likely non existent at national level (no laws written/apply in this case), what type of legal challenge could be aimed at the person by those who wish to stop the person carrying out the role?

PS, possible areas would be International Criminal Court (ICC), UN Security council committee (no legal basis), Persons own countries legal system or government inquiry. Also consider the person likely has the backup of a powerful Alien AI.

 

[The Judge]

I'm a bit confused by the situation you're envisaging. What do you mean by "represent the Arrival"? What is the person meant to do? If it's just to tell the world that aliens are arriving, well, all s/he needs to do is just tell people but frankly who is going to believe it? If the alien AI is intending the equivalent of an ambassador presenting his credentials to the Court of St James, what organisation does it think is going to accept them? If it wants eg to speak to the UN, then why doesn't it do it?

Legal challenges will depend on exactly what is being planned -- I've no idea how people are chosen to speak before the UN, but there are doubtless rules which need to be followed, so legal recourse could presumably be taken to block the steps.

However, if the powers that be, or just nefarious personages, want to stop the person and lethal force isn't an option because of the AI's protective shield, it's always possible to frame him/her for a crime or simply to have him/her committed to a psychiatric unit, at least as a temporary measure.

Anyhow, does this question arise out of a story you're writing? If so, I'll move it over to Writing Discussion, which is probably the more appropriate forum.

 

[Parson]

This situation reminds me a bit of Heinlein's famous "Have Spacesuit Will Travel," where our "heroes" wind up being earth's defenders in an alien confederation court because they are the only ones at the court at this time. (this is doubly confusing because in Heinlein's universe the alien confederation has essentially instantaneous space travel available) but the book is classic Juvenile for a reason.

Anyway, in that story and as I assume in your story, the issue is about what are the earth authorities are supposed to or even can do when facing an existential threat. And of course the answer is "Not much."

 

[Omits]

Hm, long story and I tried to cut it short. The Alien AI in absence of its creators i.e. biological Aliens cannot negotiate with another Alien race but it has other rescued Aliens (who need educating and bringing up to speed) on board whom it must settle somewhere. So its 'drifting' from destroyed planet homes looking for home for them and happens on our Solar System. So decides to choose a Human to represent the Aliens. Of course he has to firstly mitigate the likely panic that many assume will ensue if an Arrival actually happened!

Thanks for the responses, it's helped me to an idea or two. I've ruled out the ICC as not appropriate. Some Humans want to replace the Alien chosen ambassador some will use force and some legal paths. I've read a lot of Sci-Fi which just focuses on one country (US mainly) but think of the furory in other nations. his guy is English so one line will be the UK Gov being pressured to bring the guy under control. but the clamor for technology would put the UK in a precarious position internationally. Another nation decided (like in Arrival) to attack the Spaceship with ultra modern EMPs and board. I was looking for a legal line and yep, accuse him of being a nutter but I think now some hasty updates to the Space Legislation making it illegal for him to act w/o appointment.

I will look at "Have Spacesuit Will Travel," to get the gist of it. Slightly different in my case.

Yes, it is a story I just was not sure it fitted there. By all means move it if you deem fit. International politics is complex. Clearly there are activists busy building their responses. Predicting near future tech is quite fun I find.

 

[Wayne Mack]

I am assuming that the person is becoming the representative of the aliens to Earth. Legally, perhaps treat the aliens as they were a corporation and the person was the franchise holder for the corporation on Earth. Alternately, the person might be treated as a diplomatic envoy for the aliens.

If treated as a diplomat, individual countries may choose to expel the representative in the hopes that a different one, more to their liking, would be appointed by the aliens. This, however, would not lead to a legal case; those decisions would not play out in a court room. Perhaps, if the aliens took some sort of aggressive action against the Earth, the person might be tried in international court for crimes against humanity.

If treated as a franchisee, individual countries, and in at least the case of the US, individual states, could file anti-trust suits by declaring a monopoly. The solution to break up the monopoly could be a request to assign additional 'franchisees.'

 

[Omits]

I'm not sure how an international franchise is based. I was thinking of a charity (no profit making) where the guy sets one up so the Aliens can have a focus. This is a friendly arrival by the Aliens. I want Humans to mes it up. Global warming is also a focus and the recent COP26 shows we are inevitably going down that road! Thanks.

 

[msstice]

what type of legal challenge could be aimed at the person by those who wish to stop the person carrying out the role?

I believe that all depends on the AI since, by abducting a human and asking it to represent humanity, it's setting its own rules. Presumably this is all a sham, because an AI that powerful doesn't need to ask permission from humans for anything.

 

[alexvss]

It doesn't help much but this thread reminded me of Escape Pod 795: Tiger Lawyer Gets It Right. I really like that story so I couldn't miss the chance to recommend it!

@Omits A little bit more serious now: I advise you to forget about established jurisdictions and think more about an ad hoc organization. Ad hoc means something like "just for that specific case". The legal organizations we have nowadays are obviously not prepared for such a thing, so humans would establish something like a task force just for this. Think about the Nuremberg Trials.

Another thing. If you want humans to mess it all up, one thing you could do is put global superpowers against each other. It's kinda like what happens in Arrival (2016, based on Story of your life by Ted Chiang). In Arrival, both The US and China are trying to decipher the language of aliens, and they're not allies at all. You could, for instance, add Russia, and they would not like Americans leading the negotiations. In such cases, neuter countries serve as arbitrators--Switzerland is the first one that comes to mind.

 

[hitmouse]

I'm not sure how an international franchise is based. I was thinking of a charity (no profit making) where the guy sets one up so the Aliens can have a focus. This is a friendly arrival by the Aliens. I want Humans to mes it up. Global warming is also a focus and the recent COP26 shows we are inevitably going down that road! Thanks.

Well for starters the aliens will need visas, workmpermits etc. how will terrestrial governments cope with that? Also: where do the aliens land? Usually it is Washington or London etc, but what if is in Outer Mongolia or Burkina Faso, or North Korea, or in Benidorm? What is the kidnapped human is a sheep herder from Ladakh, or a street sweeper from Nairobi? How does the rest of the world, or just the superpowers react if the Aliens decide to conduct their dialogue in Igbo or Welsh or Malayalam?
Plenty of fun to be had here.

 

[sknox]

I'm confused. The human has been abducted and no one knows it. Fine so far.

Then you ask >what type of legal challenge could be aimed at the person by those who wish to stop the person carrying out the role?

How did anyone find out about the person?
Would a legal challenge really be the first response of humanity? Would they not feel sorry for the abductee? Be in a dither about aliens? Protest or support whatever demands are made by the human representative of the aliens?

Also, if the "correct" answer is that there can be no legal challenge, what implications would that have for your story?