Space Law
Space Insurance & Space Law
Space insurance is governed, as all classes of insurance, by general insurance principles: mutualisation (the premium of the many pay for the claims of the few), fortuity (notion of random occurrence as opposed to prediction), indemnity (not to be richer after the loss than before), due intelligence (insurance should not alter the behaviour of the insured), and true and fair declaration of the risk. →
Can Space Law apply on Earth?
Can Space Law apply on Earth? When I tell people about my interest in Space Law, they are usually surprised. They ask me what is Space Law and I try to give a simple definition. Recently, I have asked myself if Space Law could apply on Earth and the answer is of course: yes! →
An interview with Jean-François Clervoy
This interview of Jean-François Clervoy was conducted by Louis de Gouyon Matignon for Space Legal Issues on Thursday, April 25, 2019, in the CNES office of Jean-François Clervoy in Paris, France. We talked about Space Law, how astronauts are selected and how much do they earn, the Overview Effect and anecdotes. →
Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space
A positive step towards protecting the human environment was taken on December 14, 1992, with the adoption by the U.N. General Assembly of the Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space. These eleven Principles, with the Resolution adopting them, culminate efforts going back to 1972. →
Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space
The Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space were adopted by consensus on December 3, 1986. They provide a set of non-binding yet agreed and politically relevant principles to guide the activities of remote sensing by the United Nations member states. →
The Delimitation between Airspace and Outer Space
For this new Space Law article on Space Legal Issues, let’s study the Delimitation between Airspace and Outer Space. The issue of where airspace ends and outer space begins has been debated since the 1950s. This legal issue is important since Air Law and Space Law are governed by vastly different legal regimes. →
The differences between international and supranational organizations
What are the differences between international and supranational organizations? A supranational organization is an administrative structure that goes beyond the boundaries of states. It differs from international organizations in the fact that within it, decisions are made by institutions specific to the organization, and not by meeting of heads of state or their representatives. →
The Television Without Frontiers Directive
The Television Without Frontiers Directive (TVWF Directive) is the cornerstone of the European Union’s audiovisual policy. It rests on two basic principles: the free movement of European television programs within the internal market, and the requirement for TV channels to reserve, whenever possible, more than half of their transmission time for European works or “broadcasting quotas”. →
The European Convention on Transfrontier Television
The European Convention on Transfrontier Television is the first international treaty creating a legal framework for the free circulation of transfrontier television programs in Europe, through minimum common rules, in fields such as programming, advertising, sponsorship and the protection of certain individual rights. →
Sectoral space regulations
Since the first commercial telecommunications satellites were put into orbit in 1965, there has been a real economic explosion in this sector, with the proliferation of networks, whether at national, regional or global level. International (Intelsat, Inmarsat, Interspoutnik) or regional (Eutelsat, Arabsat) satellite communications organisations have been established to manage these commercial systems. →
Public International Space Law
Based on the mentioned basic space law principles, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty provided a legal framework whose enlargement was made possible by subsequent treaty texts. All these provisions form the corpus juris spatialis or the fundamental Public International Space Law governing space activities. →
ESA, Europe and the USA
Recently, the European Commission (EC) published a communication “towards a Space Strategy for the European Union that benefits its citizens”. In this document, the EC emphasises the political and societal role of Space for Europe. Article 189 of the Lisbon treaty confers on the Union a shared space competence. Referring to this new competence, the EC aims at coordinating EU Space programs to counteract a fragmentation of EU Space activities. →
Space Agencies and Space Law
India has its own space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which operates under the Indian Government. In Russia, much is done through Roscosmos. In a variety of instances, however, governments and national agencies have come together co-operatively to engage in space activities with consequent effects on space law. Of these one obvious example is the European Space Agency (ESA). →
The United Nations and Space Law
The most obvious forum for developing space law within the operational structures of the United Nations itself is the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, COPUOS. First, however, mention should be made of the Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) formerly at UN Headquarters, New York, and now at Vienna. →
Where to learn Space Law?
Teaching is important both in spreading knowledge of space law and for its development. Unsurprisingly, given the number of states and enterprises now active in space, a goodly number of universities and other academic institutions round the world now offer lectures and occasionally courses in space law. →
The Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space
Launched in May 2016, the Manual on International Law Applicable to Military Uses of Outer Space (MILAMOS) Project aims to develop a widely-accepted manual clarifying the fundamental rules applicable to the military use of outer space in peacetime. →
The Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a governmental body of the United States of America with powers to regulate all aspects of civil aviation in that nation as well as over its surrounding international waters. →
Space Law and the New Space
This article describes the issues surrounding the regulation of “New Space” activities. Today’s space field is characterised by new activities, new actors and new concerns. New activities in space such as space mining or large constellations of small satellites raise issues that are not clearly addressed in the UN space treaties. →
The lawfulness of extraterrestrial real estate
Let’s have a look at the lawfulness of extraterrestrial real estate. Extraterrestrial real estate refers to claims of land ownership on other planets or natural satellites or parts of space by certain organisations, individuals, and artists. The topic of real estate on celestial bodies has been present since the 1890s. →
The laws of space
With this new Space Law article on Space Legal Issues, let’s have a look at the laws of space and outline the field of international space law and explain its main principles, focusing on the five UN space treaties. It will present the international law‐making process and examine the ability of existing international legal instruments to address current and future space activities and challenges. →