Contemporary Practice of the United States Interpretation of Treaties

1981 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-147
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
General Counsel ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
Contemporary Practice

At a hearing on the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the Moon Treaty), adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 5, 1979, which the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held on July 29, 1980, S. Neil Hosenball, General Counsel of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and U.S. representative on the UN Outer Space Legal Subcommittee, stated that interpretation of the Agreement depended upon its negotiating history as required by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (1969) and by customary international law.

scholarly journals Sapnis par kosmosa bagātībām – vai kosmosa resursu ieguve ir likumīga?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lūcija Strauta ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Commercial Exploitation ◽  
International Space ◽  
National Space ◽  
Space Law ◽  
Celestial Bodies

The paper assesses whether the national legal framework of the United States, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates, which stipulates that space resources can be privately owned, and legalizes the acquisition of space resources for commercial purposes, complies with international space law. The article analyses the scope of space use delineated by the 1967 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies and 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, as well as the subsequent national practices after the entry into force of these agreements, national space law, national policies and public statements. The aim of the analysis is to determine whether international space law contains a prohibition of the extraction and commercial exploitation of space resources. The study evaluates national comprehensions of the space law content with regard to the freedom to use space. It yields a conclusion that there is no absolute ban on the commercial exploitation of space resources under international space law.

Main Contents and Comment on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty

2021 ◽  
pp. 15-19
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Outer Space Treaty

This chapter introduces the ratification by member states and main contents of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (Title: Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies). Furthermore, the author explains the reason it the contents of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty should be amended. The treaty was opened for signature in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on 27 January 1967, and entered into force on 10 October 1967. As of June 2020, 110 countries are parties to the treaty, while another 23 have signed the treaty but have not completed ratification.

The problem of the use of natural resources of the Moon and other celestial bodies for commercial purposes

2021 ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Naser Al Ali
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
International Space ◽  
Celestial Bodies

The article deals with modern problems of international legal regulation of the use of natural resources of the Moon and other celestial bodies for commercial purposes. A legal analysis of the provisions of the main space agreements on the legal regime of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies is being carried out. It also analyses the acts adopted unilaterally by the United States, Luxembourg and the UAE on the use of the natural resources of the Moon and other celestial bodies for commercial purposes and their assessment of the compliance with space agreements. Conclusions are made about the need to improve space agreements and the adoption of a new international treaty on the establishment of the international regime for the use of space resources and the creation of an international space authority on the basis of the norms and basic principles of international space law and the concept of the common heritage of mankind.

Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law

1969 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-336
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Law ◽  
Department Of Defense ◽  
The United States ◽  
General Counsel ◽  
Department Of State ◽  
Legal Adviser ◽  
Contemporary Practice

The material for this section is compiled by Stephen L. Gibson, attorney in the Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State. Jerome H. Silber, of the Office of the General Counsel, Department of Defense, has provided material originating in that Department.

The International Space Station

2019 ◽  
pp. 79-95
Author(s):  
Chris Nie
Keyword(s):  
International Space Station ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Space Station ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Moon ◽  
New Era ◽  
International Space ◽  
Space Race ◽  
Future Space ◽  
Technical Details

A new era of spaceflight dawned following the conclusion of the United States and Russian space race. This new era has been marked by the design, assembly, and operation of one of the greatest engineering feats mankind has accomplished, the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is comprised of hundreds of thousands of kilograms of material built on the ground and transported to space for assembly. It houses an artificial atmosphere to sustain life in outer space and has been continually inhabited for over 15 years. This chapter describes the technical complexity of the ISS, the background of how it was assembled, its major systems, details of crew life onboard, commercial usage of the resource, and examples of mishaps that have occurred during the ISS's operation. The technical details of the ISS provide a glimpse into what future space stations that might orbit the Moon and Mars will resemble.

The Outer Space Treaties

1969 ◽  
Vol 73 (705) ◽  
pp. 751-758
Author(s):  
Francis Vallat
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
The United Nations

In this lecture I intend to talk about two treaties adopted under the auspices of the General Assembly of the United Nations. To give them their full titles, they are the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies and the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space. For convenience, I shall call them the Treaty on Outer Space and the Agreement on Rescue and Return.

Space Law and Weapons in Space

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sa'id Mosteshar
Keyword(s):  
Outer Space ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Difficulty ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Outer Space Treaty ◽  
Space Weapons ◽  
Definition Of

Although legal principles to govern space were discussed as early as the mid-1950s, they were not formalized until the Outer Space Treaty (OST) 1967 was adopted and came into force. The OST establishes a number of principles affecting the placement of weapons in outer space. In particular it provides that “the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes” and prohibits the testing of any types of weapons on such bodies. More generally the OST forbids the placement of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in outer space. In addition there are a number of disarmament treaties and agreements emanating from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and the Conference on Disarmament that are relevant to weapons in space. Although the disarmament provisions and international humanitarian laws place some restrictions on the use or manner of use of space weapons, none prohibit space weaponization. The absence of such prohibition is not due to many attempts over the years to prevent an arms race in space. Notable among these are Prevention of an Arms Race in Space Draft Treaty and the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Space Draft Treaty. In considering the laws affecting space weapons a fundamental question that arises is what constitutes a weapon and does its placement in space breach the requirement that outer space be used exclusively for peaceful purposes? As an example, does a satellite used to control and direct an armed drone breach the peaceful use provision of the OST? There may be risks that without international norms governments and substate groups may acquire and use armed drones in ways that threaten regional stability, laws of war, and the role of domestic rule of law in decisions to use force. Given their orbital velocity, any object in space could be a weapon with capability to destroy a satellite or other space object. There is also a growing population of dual-use satellites with military as well as civilian applications. These present great difficulty in arriving at a workable definition of a space weapon in the formulation of a generally acceptable treaty. In addition, there are divergent views of the meaning of peaceful use. Some, in particular the United States, consider the meaning to be “nonaggressive” rather than “nonmilitary.”

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