Proceedings of the Workshop - United Nations Office for Outer ...

28 EXISTING UNITED NATIONS TREATIES: STRENGTHS AND NEEDSthis problem with a view toward its consideration laterby the Legal Subcommittee of COPUOS.Additional attention to the Moon Agreementsituation could be given by the IISL in a workshopComparing the Moon with Antarctica where agreedprinciples combine opportunities for scientific researchand commercialization.Commentary PaperEduardo D. Gaggero,Alicia Presto Lausarot, andMarta Gaggero MontanerCentro de Investigacion y DifusionAeronautico-Espacial, UruguayInternational Space Law, elaborated by COPUOS andconsisting of five international space treaties regardingthe exploration and peaceful uses of outer space, plusfive sets of legal principles, has come to a standstillstage.In view of this, the Legal Subcommittee of theCOPUOS has introduced a new topic in its Agendarelated to the “Review of the status of the fiveinternational legal instruments governing outer space”,and has noted that there are various circumstances thatimpede ratification of the legal instruments governingouter space.Privatisation and commercial uses of outer space,has led to the application of other instruments.Consequently, the existing norms should beanalysed, examining the possible complementation ofSpace Law in force with international norms thatregulate private space activities. The LiabilityConvention should define private liability so as toprevent national authorities from applying their owninterpretations of the Convention through national law.There should not be forgotten the principles establishedby UNGA Resolution 51/122 about InternationalCooperation which establishes that contractual aspectsof the activities of international cooperation should beequitable and reasonable and should absolutely pay dueconsideration to the legitimate rights and interests of theinterested parties, as for example the rights ofintellectual property. These represent a security forindustrial investments in highly risky technologies. Toattract private investors in outer space, legal certaintyis a prerequisite to assure responsibilities in case ofviolation.The Legal Subcommittee must balance the needsand rewards of the various actors of space activities andmust work on a legal framework that could lead themto the XXI century with the minimum of conflicts andthe maximum of progress and cooperation.Another topic of great importance is the one ofspace debris. The Scientific and TechnicalSubcommittee is considering the issue, but it has notbeen included in the Legal Subcommittee Agenda yet.It should be noted the lack of enough regulation ofthe issue, in reference to the liability for the damagescaused by space debris. The Outer Space Treaty andthe Liability Convention established the internationalliability of launching states for the damages caused byspace objects or its ’’component parts”, on earth, airspace or outer space. It can be deduced that spacedebris are part of space objects, and consequently it canbe applied the liability regime of the Outer SpaceTreaty and the Liability Convention. The most difficultissue is to identify the origin of a component part of aspace object. It is necessary then to count on a moreprecise regulation that should define the concept ofspace debris, set certain guidelines in order to avoid theproduction of debris and establish measures to reduceits growth. In reference to this topic, in the RegistrationConvention, the problem is how to define and identifyspace debris. It should be supported the proposal ofcreating a world-wide monitoring entity or aninternational guarantee fund with the main andproportional contribution of those who use and takeprofits from space activities, and according to thedanger they create and their frequency. Anyway, theConvention should be amended in accordance with theCommittee.