OUTER SPACE LEGAL SUBCOMMITTEE TO HOLD THIRTY-SEVENTH SESSION IN VIENNA, 23 MARCH - 3 APRIL
Press Release
OS/1735
OUTER SPACE LEGAL SUBCOMMITTEE TO HOLD THIRTY-SEVENTH SESSION IN VIENNA, 23 MARCH - 3 APRIL
19980319 Background Release(Reissued as received.)
VIENNA, 18 March (UN Information Service) -- The Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is to begin a three-year major review of the status of the five international treaties governing outer space as it begins its two-week session here on 23 March.
Based on a proposal submitted by the Mexican Government, the Subcommittee is expected to take a detailed look at the obstacles that have prevented governments from signing, ratifying or adhering to the provisions of any of the five key international outer space treaties (the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the 1968 Rescue Agreement, the 1972 Liability Convention, the 1975 Registration Convention and the 1979 Moon Agreement). As part of the three-year review programme, the Subcommittee will consider the views of States, making it possible to identify and discuss their reasons for not having signed or ratified the various international legal instruments. On the basis of those discussions, the Subcommittee is expected to propose mechanisms that would lead to the fullest possible adherence to the five treaties.
Reviewing the status of the outer space treaties will also be the special theme of a symposium sponsored by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) in cooperation with the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL) to be held on the opening day of the Subcommittee session. The participants of the symposium will have an opportunity to have a detailed look at how each of the five treaties evolved and the nature of the reservations that some States had, through five separate presentations from renown international space law experts.
The 61-member Subcommittee, one of two subsidiary bodies of the Committee, will also continue its deliberations on the agenda item of definition and delimitation of outer space. Delegates will discuss the topic by focusing on the accumulated replies from States to a questionnaire on
possible legal issues concerning aerospace objects. The questionnaire, circulated to member States three years ago, focuses on the legal status of aerospace objects and was designed to break the impasse in the Subcommittee between States which consider the delimitation of airspace and outer space to be vital and those which consider it unnecessary.
Access to and use of the geostationary orbit will continue to be one of the key agenda items. The topic has been with the Subcommittee for several years. 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 without the satellite spending fuel to maintain that position. Its strategic position, in terms of telecommunications and broadcasting, makes it a unique orbit and thus a special resource. Therefore, some Member States are of the view that the geostationary orbit is a limited natural resource and a special legal regime is needed to ensure equitable access to the orbit. Other countries believe that no such regime is necessary as the current arrangements of satellite slot allocations through the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) provide satisfactory legal regulations on the issue.
Participants will also have an opportunity to express their views on the issue of the use of nuclear power sources in outer space. The General Assembly adopted a set of "Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space" in December 1992. Those Principles spell out the duties and responsibilities of States operating nuclear-powered satellites, space vehicles and other equipment, and also contain guidelines on their safe operations. Updating of those Principles depends on whether Members States agree that recent scientific and technical developments in the use of nuclear power sources warrant a respective legal follow-up on the issue.
According to a decision of the Committee at its session last year, the Subcommittee should also elect a Chairperson to lead its work during the next three years. In view of the agreement reached by the Committee on its working methods in 1997, the Subcommittee is expected to re-elect V. Mikulka (Czech Republic) as its Chairman for the period 1998-2000.
Treaties
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 (Outer Space Treaty) provides that space exploration shall be carried out for the benefit of all countries, irrespective of their degree of development. It also seeks to maintain outer space as the province of all mankind, free for exploration and use by all States and not subject to national appropriation.
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The 1968 Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (Rescue Agreement) provides for aiding the crews of spacecraft in the event of accident or emergency landing, and establishes a procedure for returning to a launching authority a space object found beyond the territorial limits of that authority.
The 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (Liability Convention) provides that the launching State is liable for damage caused by its space objects on the earth's surface or to aircraft in flight and also to space objects of another State or persons or property on board such objects.
The 1975 Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (Registration Convention) provides that launching States shall maintain registries of space objects and furnish specified information on each space object launched, for inclusion in a central United Nations Register.
The 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Moon Agreement) elaborates in more specific terms the principles relating to the Moon and other celestial bodies set out in the 1966 Treaty and sets up the basis for the future regulation of exploration and exploitation of natural resources found on such bodies.
Membership
The Subcommittee comprises the 61 members of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba*, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia*, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru*, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea*, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam and Yugoslavia.
* Peru and Malaysia rotate every two years with Cuba and the Republic of Korea.
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