session 2

Title

The Interaction between International Private Law and Space Law and its Impact on Commercial Space Activities

Description

Many current day space activities are undertaken by private commercial entities. Indeed, Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty already contemplated that 'non-governmental entities' would carry out space activities, albeit with the responsibility for such activities remaining with States. As the range of private commercial space activities has rapidly expanded, and the 'industries' that many of them have created represent many billions of dollars, a variety of legal issues arise that require careful thought. Not only are the United Nations Space Law Treaties of relevance, but private law, either on a multilateral or bilateral basis, plays an important role in the regulation of such activities. This session invites contributions that discuss how private law impacts upon, and is influenced by the broader range of international space law rules. Reference may be made to the draft Protocol to the Cape Town Convention on Matters specific to Space Assets, prepared by a Unidroit Committee of governmental experts, due to be finalised at a diplomatic Conference to be held in Berlin from 27 February to 9 March 2012, or to the plethora of contractual, regulatory and national law rules that are relevant to the regulation of private space activities.

Date

2012-10-02

Time

15:15

Room

TS10 (Sala Sirius, Hall 3)

IPC members

• Chairman: Mr. Martin Stanford, Unidroit, Italy;

• Chairman: Prof. Paul Larsen, Georgetown University Law Center, United States;

• Rapporteur: Dr. Olga Stelmakh-Drescher, International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Germany;