scholarly journals Challenges to the Prohibition on Sovereignty in Outer Space - A New Frontier for Space Governance

Author(s):  
Anel Ferreira-Snyman

The current space arena has changed significantly since the 1950s, when outer space activities commenced. At the time of the adoption of the Outer Space Treaty (and the related General Assembly Resolutions), the outer space arena was largely dominated by the political interests of the two major space powers, the USA and the (then) USSR. Although states have remained the primary actors in regulating the use of outer space, the extent to which private companies would become involved in the exploration and use of space was not envisaged at the time of the conclusion of the space treaties. It is particularly the involvement of private space actors that complicates the traditional understanding of the prohibition on territorial sovereignty in outer space. With specific reference to the outer space boundary, the principle of the common heritage of humankind and property rights in outer space, this contribution aims to highlight some of the challenges to the prohibition of sovereignty in view of current developments in the arena of outer space. This analysis suggests that the blanket prohibition on sovereignty in outer space should be re-evaluated in order to keep up with the fast developing technological advancements in space exploration, and that clear legal rules be developed to provide legal certainty for all role players.

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-126
Author(s):  
Virajati Adhazar ◽  
Suhaidi Suhaidi ◽  
Sutiarnoto Sutiarnoto ◽  
Jelly Leviza

Self-defense as an inherent right owned by a country is regulated in Article 51 of the UN Charter and due to the use of Space-Based Missile Interceptor (SBMI) weapons in space, the 1967 outer space treaty must also be guided. Because Article 4 of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits the use of weapons in space, the legality of using SBMI weapons is questionable. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the legal provisions, forms of state accountability and the process of prosecuting compensation for countries using these weapons according to international law. The results of the study indicate that the use of SBMI weapons does not conflict with international law, because it is based on Article 103 of the UN Charter which states that if there are provisions in other legal rules that are contrary to the UN Charter, the UN Charter must be guided. So that self-defense actions based on Article 51 of the UN Charter do not violate the law. The party that must be absolutely responsible is the country that started the conflict, because it has violated the rules of international law in Article 2 paragraph (4) of the UN Charter and international humanitarian law. The compensation process is carried out according to the rules of the space liability convention 1972 and if in practice the party who is responsible does not show good faith in providing compensation, then it can be continued by referring to the dispute resolution process in the UN Charter.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-151
Author(s):  
Niken Tyasworo ◽  
Mas Nana Jumena

The exploratory utilization of outer space is currently take a place following the development of science and technologies. At first, the exploration was done by government only, in this time, private companies also take part to do the outer space exploration.The outer space tour activities is one form of outer space commercialization. This time, those activities is still in the developing process for the better future business, especially in the law aspect for the outer space tour activities. So that, an explanation of the outer space tour activity is one particular part that should be extremely clear and understandable for the sake of tourist’s security. Such as, how far the responsibility is given by government and private companies in case of an accident during the outer space tour activities.The conclusion of this research is to mention that Outer Space Treaty 1967, Rescue Agreement 1968, Liability Convention 1972 and Registration Convention 1975 are all be able to applied as basic law for the outer space tour activities. Therefore, the outer space tour activity is something that could have been done routinely in the future and that makes the laws and regulations must be evident, equitable, and liable in order to ensure comfort and safety for the outer space tourists.


Author(s):  
Paul Meyer

Since the early 1980s, the United Nations General Assembly and its affiliated forum, the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, has had the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space issue on its agenda. In the intervening years, the threat of weapons being introduced into the outer space realm has waxed and waned, but, in the main, a benign environment free from man-made threats has prevailed, allowing for great strides in the exploration and use of space. Recently, a renewal of great power rivalry including the development of offensive ‘counter-space’ capabilities has resurrected the spectre of armed conflict in space. With widespread political support for the non-weaponization of outer space, has the time come to give legal expression to this goal by means of an optional protocol to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty?


Soundings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (78) ◽  
pp. 81-85
Author(s):  
Susmita Mohanty

Space debris has reached alarming proportions and is growing at a frightening pace, because of the expanding number of satellites circulating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), designed to increase global Internet coverage and provide earth observation data. LEO satellites are now being launched in mega-constellations, including by Elon Musk's company SpaceX. It is time to completely overhaul the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was not designed to deal with current problems. The COP forum should therefore include the near-earth environment within its concept of the earth's climate, enabling the UN to acknowledge, as a collective, the growing menace of human-made debris in near-earth space, and, in partnership with the UN-Outer Space Affairs Office (UN-OOSA), call for a new declaration on LEO.


New Space ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feyisola Ruth Ishola ◽  
Oluwabusola Fadipe ◽  
Olaoluwa Colin Taiwo

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Phillips Lewis

In her memoir, Not for Everyday Use (2014), and her novel Anna in Between (2009) and its sequel, Boundaries (2011), Elizabeth Nunez explores the nature of the migrant experience for first generation Afro-Caribbean immigrants to the USA. With specific reference to the use of language, characterization, history, imagery, and the interweaving of history, she analyzes the complexities of that reality as they attempt to adjust to a host locale (USA) that has had, from its inception, a very contentious relationship with blackness that fragments potential solidarity of blackness. Extrapolating from the lives her protagonists as filtered through the prism of her own migrant journey, Nunez sees them as existing in a permanent state of liminality from which there is no escape. Despite the finality of the act of migration, Caribbean-Americanlives are forever in a state of flux over which they can exert only limited control. Migration promises freedom and yet denies its full efflorescence; it offers the excitement of choice but only provides the exercise of it remains within the confines of fixed circumferences; it encourages belonging, yet castigates the complacency that belonging engenders. This paper will show that Nunez clearly represents the Afro-Caribbean immigrant life in America as uneasy existence in unsafe space, yet sends a firm message that the disillusionment of that reality is more palatable than the idea of return. The state of in-betweenity, therefore, while not static in essential nature, is as permanent and unavoidable as is the act of migration itself. In order to feel more at ease the migrant must quickly learn the balancing act of becoming yet never being; the migrant must come to appreciate the complex dance between commonality and contestation even within a diaspora of shared African origin.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Lehmann

Abstract Various states have started providing private law frameworks for blockchain transfers and crypto assets. France and Liechtenstein have adopted the first acts, while a commission of the British government sees no difficulties in extending property protection under the common law to crypto assets. In the USA, an amendment to the Uniform Commercial Code has been suggested, which has not stopped some states going their own, different way. The aim in all cases is to promote the use of modern distributed ledger technology and enhance investor protection. While these initiatives will increase legal certainty, they differ significantly. This has an important downside: there is a strong risk that the blockchain will be made subject to diverging legal rules. Similar to the world of intermediated securities, various national laws will need to be consulted to determine the rights and privileges of investors. This may increase transaction costs, thwart interoperability, and produce thorny conflict-of-laws problems. Markets risk being fragmented into national segments, with an inevitable diminution of their depth and liquidity. As a remedy, this article suggests developing uniform rules for the blockchain. Before national legislators and judges once again divide the world through idiosyncratic rules, the private law of crypto assets should be harmonized to the highest degree possible. Uniform rules should ideally be forged at the global level, by fora like the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and the Hague Conference on Private International Law. In the absence of worldwide rules, uniformization of private law should take place at the regional level—for instance, by the European Union. The article makes specific suggestions as to how this can be achieved and what the content of those rules should be.


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