Types of Liability for Illegal Space Activities

Abstract

The article analyzes the norms of international law, which relate to the responsibility of the state and other subjects of international law during the implementation of such types of space activities as remote sensing of Earth from outer space, provision of satellite broadcasting, prevention and elimination of emergency situations, the use of nuclear power sources in outer space. The issues of the international legal personality of the state in implementation of the applied types of space activities are researched; such forms of international legal responsibility of the state as political and material are considered. Particular attention is paid to a new stage of the development of space technologies. In this regard, in general, the national laws of some cosmic countries, which regulate the exploration of space both for the needs of science and for the needs of national defense of these countries, are analyzed. The study develops the idea of freedom of space, which cannot serve as a basis for the conduct of activities intended to breach the principle of respect for sovereignty, because the use of satellites may affect the sovereign rights and legitimate interests of other states. The issue of combining the principle of freedom of space activities with the principle of the sovereignty of states over their territory, particularly over natural resources, is considered. It is determined that the remote sensing of a foreign territory is a violation of the principle of sovereignty of countries, and may have a negative impact on developing countries. An analysis of the space laws of a number of countries makes it possible to conclude, that the current state of legal regulation of the international legal responsibility of countries on the effects of space activities is most often determined by the capabilities and the desire of countries to expand their own space activities and the desire to support private enterprises and their business related to space activities. Such research will contribute to the development of a systematic approach to the international legal regulation of the activities of States in the field of the registration of space station rent on the model of an office lease agreement, space tourism, extraction on asteroids, etc.

Keywords

• international legal personality of the state
• responsibility
• applied types of space activities
• compensation of losses
• remote sensing of earth
• nuclear energy sources
• satellite technologies
• geostationary orbit
• ownership of celestial bodies
• outer space treaty