LEGAL SUBCOMMITTEE OF COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE VIENNA, 1-8 APRIL
Press Release
OS/1727
LEGAL SUBCOMMITTEE OF COMMITTEE ON PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE VIENNA, 1-8 APRIL
19970409 (Reproduced as received.)VIENNA, 8 April (UN Information Service) -- The Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space ended its session today, over a week earlier than scheduled, with a call for the status of the five international treaties governing outer space to be reviewed before the turn of the century. The recommendation reflects general recognition of the dramatic advances both in technology and in the nature of activities taking place in the space environment, as well as the urgent need to ensure the fullest possible adherence to the outer space treaties by the international community.
The 61-member Subcommittee, one of two subsidiary bodies of the Committee, also took important steps to break the impasse between States regarding the legal status of the geostationary orbit by recommending that a resolution be placed before the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) later this year, asking it to ensure equitable access to the geostationary orbit for all States, in particular developing countries.
A symposium, sponsored by the International Institute of Space Law in cooperation with the European Centre for Space Law celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty was held on 1 April.
Delimitation of Outer Space
The Subcommittee continued to discuss the definition and delimitation of outer space based on replies received from States to a questionnaire on possible legal issues with regard to aerospace objects. Uncertainty was expressed as to the definition of the term "aerospace object", as the definition provided in the report did not seem to cover the earth-to-earth objects used for commercial transportation. The view was also expressed that it might be useful for the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee to study and define the technical aspects of aerospace objects before the Legal Subcommittee proceeded with its work. While few delegates took the floor on
this question, the Republic of Korea stressed that delimitation and definition of outer space was an essential element for developing outer space law and urged that momentum on this "complicated and delicate issue" not be lost.
The delegate of the Russian Federation attributed the "lethargic state of discussions" to the fact that, to date, only 14 replies to the report had been received, and appealed to all States to provide answers without delay. A comprehensive set of replies, he said, could also provide the foundation for possible future codification of a "right of peaceful passage" by space vehicles over the territory of third States, similar to the legal principle established regarding the law of the sea.
Geostationary Orbit
The geostationary orbit, some 22,300 miles above the Equator, is the only orbit which allows continuous contact between a satellite and a single ground station. Its strategic position, in terms of telecommunications and broadcasting, is therefore unique and the orbit is widely recognized as a vital resource for the economic, social and cultural development of all States.
The Subcommittee has discussed access to and use of the geostationary orbit for decades, and has been unable to reach the required consensus to make any decisions concerning its legal status and regulation. The issue has been further complicated by the fact that some equatorial States argue that their geographical location gives them a greater claim to the use of the orbit than other States.
Discussions on the use of the orbit centred on a text submitted by Colombia and a German draft resolution by which the General Assembly would ask the ITU to ensure equitable access to the orbit. The Brazilian delegate called for continued analysis of the Colombian working paper, which proposes criteria for the application of preferential rights to ensure developing countries equitable access to the geostationary orbit. Some countries, however, expressed doubts that any further progress could be made on the arguments contained in the Colombian paper which, according to the French delegate, had been heard in the same form many times without consensus being reached.
With the ITU aiming to adopt new regulatory measures directly related to the orbit at its World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva later this year, there was strong support for the German draft. In the view of Germany, adoption of this resolution would bring discussions within the Legal Subcommittee about the geostationary orbit to a positive and constructive end, allowing discussions on the issue to be suspended at least until after the third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 1999 (UNISPACE III).
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The German proposal would aim to ensure equitable access for all States or groups of States to the geostationary orbit in three main ways:
-- In light of the growing concern about satellites being launched or repositioned without following proper procedures, the ITU should aim to reinforce compliance by administrations with all official space coordination procedures.
-- As reservation of orbit capacity without actual use (the phenomenon of "paper satellites") was leading to the virtual congestion of the geostationary satellite orbit, measures must be taken to eliminate the overfilling of satellite positions.
-- The issue of space debris, such as "dead" satellites and fragments resulting from collisions in space, must be addressed to ensure that the limited room available on the geostationary orbit was not cluttered by defunct spacecraft or other hardware.
Ecuador took the position that legal issues relating to the geostationary orbit came within the competence of the Legal Subcommittee and not the ITU which, it said, should confine itself to consideration of the technical aspects of the geostationary orbit. Furthermore, that country's delegate emphasized, account should be taken of the geophysical link between the orbit and gravitational forces on earth. This view received support from several other States.
Citing the dramatic increase in the number of new satellite launches and the finite amount of space available on the geostationary orbit, Indonesia called for a sui generis regime to govern access to and use of that orbit by all States, emphasizing that account should be taken not only of the needs of developing countries, but also their geographical situation on earth. Greece, on the other hand, maintained that the space environment could not be fragmented and that development of a special legal regime for the orbit would contrary to the spirit and letter of the Outer Space Treaty, by which outer space cannot be subject to national appropriation or claim of sovereignty.
Several delegates believed that discussions on the geostationary orbit in the Legal Subcommittee remained of fundamental importance and that progress on this issue was required. It was premature, said many speakers, to suspend discussions on this important matter. The delegate of Morocco expressed the hope that UNISPACE III would give greater scope and effectiveness to international cooperation in this area.
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Review of Space Treaties
The Subcommittee recommended it devote time during its 1998 session to reviewing the status of five international treaties governing outer space. This subject, which was the subject of a paper submitted by Mexico, was one of several possible new agenda items discussed by the Legal Subcommittee.
The Mexican paper, which presented a summary of the latest information regarding ratification of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1975 Registration Convention and the 1979 Moon Agreement, reflected concerns by delegates that ratification of these instruments was, as yet, far from universal. The Moon Treaty, for example, had received only nine ratifications. Under the Mexican text, the General Assembly would call on States to submit reports making it possible to identify the reasons for not having achieved ratification of the instruments and the Legal Subcommittee would use the information supplied to work towards achieving the fullest possible adherence to the five outer space treaties.
The Russian Federation supported the proposal and pointed out the significant practical benefits which could be derived from debating this issue. The problem relating to registration of outer space objects belonging to or under the control of States or international organizations which were not parties to the 1975 Registration Convention, was raised. An unsatisfactory situation currently confronting all organizers of commercial launches was the increasing number of space vehicles being left outside the framework of the Convention system of registration. Whilst radical revision or amendment of the Treaties should not be allowed to take place, there were many such problems emerging from outer space activity which needed interpretation, fine tuning and additional work.
Also supporting the Mexican paper, the Chilean delegate spoke of gap which had emerged between the "dynamics of technology" and the "dynamics of law" and called for serious thought on certain treaties which did not necessarily reflect recent technological innovation. Other delegates were concerned that many States found some of the treaty provisions unacceptable and therefore impossible to implement. In such cases, possible revisions might be unavoidable. Iran foresaw the need for tremendous changes and developments to update the present instruments to preserve their benefit for present and future generations. The problems currently being experienced with the earth environment, he said, were partly attributable to the lack of treaties on the subject and showed the clear need for closer regulation of the space environment.
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Symposium
The outstanding achievements of current international agreements and principles on outer space and whether they should be updated to reflect the sweeping changes which have taken place in the size and nature of space activities during the last thirty years, were reviewed during the symposium.
Speakers were Y. Kolosov of Moscow State Institute of International Law, R. Jakhu of the International Space University in Strasbourg and F. von der Dunk of the Institute of Air and Space Law of Leiden University in the Netherlands. V. Kopal of Charles University, Prague, commented on the three presentations and E. Fasan of Austria chaired the event.
Commenting on the history and background of the outer space treaties, Mr. Kolosov emphasized that their evolution had not been an easy one, with many controversies needing to be resolved before nations reached the required consensus. The Outer Space Committee had played a crucial role in codifying and developing five major outer space treaties and five sets of legal principles in just three and a half decades, producing "a new branch of international law", at a tempo which was "second to none" in legal terms.
Mr. Jakhu, speaking on the application and implementation of the 1967 Treaty, sometimes called the "Magna Carta of outer space", stressed that the drafting and negotiating of this instrument, which established the principle of freedom of exploration and use of outer space by all countries, was the "finest achievement of diplomacy and statesmanship" at the height of the cold war. Nevertheless, he said, the Treaty had been concluded to govern the scientific and exploratory activities of an elite group of States and was inadequate to address the issues involved in the new wave of space activities, with an increasing number of space-faring nations and private entities pursuing commercial goals, such as telecommunications and broadcasting. The treaties left too much open to interpretation. To clarify and regulate all space activities, they now needed to be amended or supplemented, possibly by asking a small group of scholars representing major space-faring nations and regions of the world to create a draft treaty to be presented to the Legal Subcommittee for consideration.
According to Mr. von der Dunk, who spoke on future developments relating to the treaties, the Outer Space Treaty placed the duty of regulating the activities of private enterprises and individuals in space squarely upon States. Only five countries had so far adopted national legislation, and those measures had resulted in differing interpretations of several of the fundamental terms and concepts of the Treaty. With regard to the involvement of private enterprise in space, in particular, Mr. von der Dunk said: "I feel the time has come to move beyond the discussions on the international level and to establish authoritative interpretations achieving world-wide acceptance." If not, he warned, States would take matters into their own hands
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and there would be "inconsistencies, gaps and overlaps" with further confusion and complications. There should be urgent clarification of international space law, to facilitate more efficient regulation of private space activities on the national level.
Chairman
Vaclav Mikulka (Czech Republic) is Chairman of the Subcommittee. Vladimir Kopal (Czech Republic) served as temporary Chairman during Mr. Mikulka's absence from 2 to 4 April.
Participants
Representatives of the following States attended the session: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Attending as observers were: Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cuba, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, United Arab Emirates and the League of Arab States.
Also taking part were representatives of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the International Law Association (ILA).
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