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

At the most basic level, in the present context, it can mean simply authorship of act oromission.The word 'international' in combination with responsibility expresses, in my view, aresponsibility on one state vis-à-vis another, leaving national responsibility to the discretion of theindividual state.The notion of the term ‘responsibility’ appears to signify a general moral and legal Stateresponsibility to be invoked by any activity in outer space, which may be considered a nationalendeavour, whether performed by a governmental agency or a private entity.But, on the premise that human beings are masters of their own will and hence of their ownaction, responsibility is a notion commonly associated with all systems or norms of behaviour:moral, religious and legal.The obligation is to answer for an act done, and to repair or otherwise make restitution forany personal and material damage it may have caused. This interpretation might lead toward theconclusion that each State party to the Space Treaty should take adequate measures to fulfil theguarantee obligation.2. LiabilityThe word ‘liability’ is a broad legal term. In the case of a breach of a legal rule causingdamage to another, legal responsibility entails a legal obligation incumbent on the author of thebreach to make integral reparation to the victims for the damage so caused in order to restore theposition to what it probably would have been had the breach not taken place. The author of thebreach becomes 'liable' for the damage.II.State Responsibility in Article VI of Space TreatyArticle VI of Space Treaty embodies the important principle of State responsibility fornational activities in outer space, imposing this responsibility equally upon governmentalactivities as well as on activities carried on by non-governmental entities. As far as internationallaw is concerned, State responsibility is ordinarily divided into direct State responsibility and theso-called indirect State responsibility 20 .Direct State responsibility refers to responsibility for its own acts. Since States can onlyact through its servants and agents, these are then acts of its servants and agents performed intheir official capacity, which are thus imputable to it as its own acts.Indirect State responsibility is strictly speaking not a case of State responsibility as such.It describes in reality an international legal obligation to protect foreign States and their nationals,as well as their property within its jurisdiction, particularly within its territorial jurisdiction.Failure to do so whether by the legislative, executive or judicial branch of the State involves, infact, the direct responsibility of the State, since failures by its officials will be imputed to the Stateas its own acts 21 .The framework of State liability is one in which the State is acting as a publiclaw body and not as a private entity. Particularly in the field of State liability, one can not say thatthere exist generally adopted civil law principles.20 Bin Cheng, "Studies in International Space Law," Clarendon Press · Oxford (1997), at 60421 Bin Cheng, "The Use of Air and Outer Space Cooperation," International Responsibility and Liabilityfor Launch Activities", Kluwer Law International (Hague, 1998), at 167