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

space object from the United Kingdom that causes damage to third parties outside the UnitedKingdom.2.4. The United StatesThe United States legislation requires the licensing of any launch of a launch vehicle or tooperate a launch facility in the United States and the launch of a launch vehicle or the operationof a launch facility outside the United States by a “citizen of the United States”. 124 The lawdefines a “citizen of the United States” as:1. An individual who is a citizen of the United States;2. An entity organised or existing under the laws of the United States or a State; or3. An entity organised or existing under the laws of a foreign country if the controllinginterest … is held by an individual who is a citizen of the United States or an entityorganised or existing under the laws of the United States or a State. 125In this way, the United States legislation applies also to foreign entities of which there isa substantial holding by a United States citizen or entity. For example, a company incorporatedunder the laws of the British Virgin Islands would nevertheless be subject to the licensingrequirements of the United States law if forty percent or more of its shareholding is in Americanhands.3. Compulsory Insurance3.1. OverviewDomestic legislation dealing with liability is connected with its provisions dealing withcompulsory third party insurance. This is because establishing a compulsory insurancerequirement is a way of ensuring that the government is financially protected in its liabilityexposure under the Liability Convention.The governments will still be required to pay the damages awarded, but they would beindemnified by the insurers, either through imposing liability on the launch operator or requiringthe launch operator to have policies insuring the governments. In the latter case, it would indeedbe unnecessary to make the private operators legally responsible for indemnifying thegovernment if they are required to insure the government for any third party liability arising underinternational law.3.2. RussiaThe Russian legislation states that the private operators are required to have insurancecover for third party damage. 126 The insurance is required is to cover the “damage to the life andhealth of the cosmonauts and the personnel at the ground and other objects of spaceinfrastructure, as well as against property damage to third parties” at an amount to be determinedby the Russian Government. 127124 Commercial Space Launch Act 1984 (US), § 70104.125 Ibid., § 70102(1).126 Law of the Russian Federation on Space Activities, Article 25.127 Ibid.