The launch state is fully responsible for damage caused by its space objects on Earth (including an aircraft in flight). In outer space, however, the launching State is liable only if the damage is due to its fault or to the fault of a person for whom it is responsible. The Registration Convention provides for the registration of space objects by the launching State or States in relation to a space object. The Outer Space Treaty prohibits anyone from owning goods in space, but the 2015 Space Act contains this controversial passage that appears to grant individuals ownership of resources harvested in space: « After going to Ares 4 before talking to NASA, I will take control of a vehicle in international waters without permission. » Watney says in the book. « That makes me a pirate! A space pirate! Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty states: « States parties to the treaty. carry out all their activities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties. The use and exploration of space is the domain of « humanity » Click here for the latest information on the status of the five space-specific treaties. Countries on the Earth`s equator have also asserted their legal right to control the use of space on their territory,[42] particularly in 1976, when many countries on the Earth`s equator created the Bogota Declaration, in which they affirmed their legal right to control the use of space on their territory. [43] Of the many challenges facing global space policy – growing space debris, overcrowded orbits, radio interference, spectrum allocation problems and the development of counterspace capabilities – none can be met without the re-establishment of intergovernmental bodies capable of establishing an effective space regime.
Outdated provisions, whose definitions and vague language are left to the interpretation of States, need to be reviewed and new rules of engagement developed. Despite all political obstacles, policymakers must give priority to the development of effective international space law, first and foremost by committing themselves to strengthening international dialogue, promoting openness, greater transparency and exchange of information, and avoiding advancing national agendas rather than ensuring that outer space remains a global common good. In 2018, two space lawyers – Christopher Hearsey and Nathan Johnson – founded the Space Court Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization that promotes and supports space law and civic education, as well as the rule of law. The Space Court Foundation produces educational materials and scholarships through the management of two major projects: Stellar Decisis and the Space Court Law Library. The Foundation is engaged in partnerships and collaborations that help raise awareness about space law and how disputes in space can be resolved as people move away from Earth in the not too distant future. [79] Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty provides: « Where a State Party has reason to believe that an activity or experiment in outer space planned by it or its nationals, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, would cause potentially harmful interference with the activities of other States Parties in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, it conducts appropriate international consultations. before proceeding with any such activity or experiment. »; To stay ahead of its adversaries, especially in the context of the rapid development of LEOs, the United States should seek to play a leading role in creating new space governance policies, with a focus on creating specific and effective functional bilateral agreements between like-minded allies and partners. The way forward to develop new rules for space activities, taking into account sustainability in space, requires partnerships with allies and partners and would serve to break the current impasse in COPUOS. It is also important to note that bilateral agreements between major countries have influenced the behavior of global governance in the past. In the 1960s, for example, the increasing public and private use of the Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) for telecommunications and other services led to the need for an international regulatory system agreed upon by sovereign stakeholders.
As a result, UNOOSA identified the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), originally established in 1865 to create international radiocommunication standards, and mandated it to become the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. By implementing radio regulations and regional agreements, ITU ensures that the radio frequency spectrum and associated satellite orbits are used fairly, efficiently and economically by States and prevents physical and electromagnetic interference in geosynchronous orbit. To do this, ITU allocates GEO slots to UN Member States taking into account orbital parameters (west or east longitude), the type of frequencies used and the regions covered (or footprint). From there, Member States follow national rules in order to grant licences to use the geo slots allocated. Another UNOOSA task was to establish the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) in 2013 to coordinate global efforts to identify and respond to near-Earth objects (i.e. asteroids) that threaten Earth. It was clear that we would need a new set of rules to govern airspace as humanity began to climb higher in the sky and possibly into space. The preference for national policy development over international agreements reflects both the growing value of commercial space and the stagnation of international space policy. The United States and Russia are different from other countries because they have the most robust national laws and regulatory bodies designed for international space engagements. But among the 28 countries with national space policies, there is little political convergence.
The treaty is the basis of international space law for signatory states (108 in 2019). The treaty contains principles for the exploration and exploitation of outer space: space law is the set of rules that govern space-related activities and includes international and national agreements, rules and principles. [1] Parameters of space law include space research, liability for damage, use of weapons, rescue efforts, environmental protection, information exchange, new technologies and ethics. [2] Other areas of law such as administrative law, intellectual property law, arms control law, insurance law, environmental law, criminal law and commercial law are also integrated into space law. [3] There are five international treaties that underpin space law and are overseen by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS). The process of developing new rules for the path in space has been hampered by the rapid spread of space technology among new actors. Throughout the Cold War, when technology was in the hands of a few States, it was much easier to reach consensus on treaties because of a common interest of the permanent members of the United Nations.
