We’ve talked a bit about the importance of operating responsibly in space: for example, disposing of satellites so they don’t end up contributing to the space debris problem. Is there any way to legally enforce responsible operation, though? Does anyone own space and have the ability to impose regulations on it? In other words, are there laws in space?
Nobody owns the moon, the stars or outer space in general. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which has been agreed to by over a hundred nations, specifically forbids any nation from laying claim to outer space: ‘Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.’ We’ll look at this treaty in more detail shortly.
Although some companies claim to sell plots of land on the moon, nobody owns the land to sell it. Some have tried to argue that, although nations are barred from owning the moon, that doesn’t necessarily prevent individuals or corporations from owning it. If you make it to the moon, though, you’re unlikely to find that your moon deed is legally recognised.
To look at it from a different perspective, everyone owns the moon. The Outer Space Treaty declares the exploration and use of outer space the ‘province of all mankind’, so nobody has the right to take private possession of part of the moon, thus excluding everyone else.
As no one nation owns outer space, no nation can impose its laws on it. Because of this, the rules that govern space are formed by agreement between nations, which is why treaties are crucial for space law.
The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, more concisely known as the Outer Space Treaty, first came into effect on 10 October 1967. This treaty laid the foundations of the laws of space.
Royal Museums Greenwich offers a comparison to bring home how sparsely regulated space is, in comparison to Earth-based concerns:
[The Outer Space Treaty] is just 17 short articles in length. By comparison, the International Law of the Sea Treaty – the set of rules governing the use of the world’s oceans – contains over 300 articles.
Articles 13 to 17 of the Outer Space Treaty are about the treaty itself, so the first 12 articles are the important ones if you want to know the rules of space. Here’s a quick summary of those articles.
The use of space is largely governed by four international treaties. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 is the most significant one, but we’ll take a quick look here at the other three:
In theory, there’s a fifth treaty: the 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, also known as the Moon Agreement, which attempts to set out rules for the use of the moon and its resources. As most spacefaring nations haven’t ratified the Moon Agreement, though, it doesn’t have the same impact on space law as its more widely accepted predecessors.
At the moment, space is sparsely and vaguely regulated. There are some points on which it could be worth clarifying the rules.
For example, you may have noticed that none of these treaties specifically set out rules for satellite disposal, which is important for keeping space debris under control. There are a couple of ways in which existing space law might help to mitigate space debris, but there’s no article that forbids unnecessarily allowing space debris to be created.
The Liability Convention, which holds states liable for damages caused by their own satellites, creates an incentive for governments to order that satellites must be disposed of responsibly. After all, if a state creates space debris by neglecting or destroying a satellite, they will then need to pay for any damage that the debris inflicts on other satellites. However, there’s still a chance a state might act recklessly, in spite of the risk that they might have to pay damages.
Article 9 of the Outer Space Treaty, meanwhile, dictates that states should act with due regard to other states’ interests. Unnecessarily creating space debris could be considered a violation of this article, as space debris makes the use of space more difficult for everyone. However, the lack of specificity here means that different states may interpret this article differently. For example, after Russia destroyed one of its own satellites in a missile test in November 2021, creating a large amount of space debris, Russia’s foreign ministry claimed that the test had been carried out ‘in strict conformity with international law, including the 1967 Outer Space Treaty’.
In 2008, the European Union attempted to create a code of conduct for outer space, which required countries to limit any activities that might create space debris. However, the International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities was never adopted. Perhaps it’s time for another treaty: one that explicitly forbids unnecessarily destroying a satellite in orbit, or launching a satellite without a responsible disposal plan in place.
Something else you may have noticed is the fact that these treaties don’t address crime by individuals. In a future article, we’ll take a closer look at what happens when an astronaut commits a crime in space.
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