The use of satellite data in court

MAUREEN WILLIAMS

Contribution of Space Law to Economic and Social Development

Naciones Unidas (ST/SPACE/58)

Lugar: Viena; Año: 2013; p. 1 - 14

Session 4, United Nations/Argentina Seminar):The use of satellite data in court  1.The point of substance is that, unlike traditional photography where changes or manipulations are easy to establish, data collected by remote sensing technologies may be manipulated with no possibility of detecting ex post facto changes.  2.For that reason strict control of the whole process of data collection and interpretation is essential, from the moment the data is obtained (as raw data) until it becomes an end product for submission to court. 3. An international body should be in charge of, and made responsible for, the accreditation and certification of satellite data. Authentication, in this context, is a key word together with capacity building. 4. Following a traditional practice in other legal areas it is recommended to have a list of experts of international prestige from which the parties to a dispute and judges/arbitrators may be able to choose. 5. A helpful step would be the sealing of archives containing the raw data once collected, and to which it would always be possible to return in controversial situations. 6. The training of the legal sector (capacity building) in the development of these technologies is first priority given the current unawareness as to what this technology can offer and its limitations. 7. The issues surrounding satellite data in international litigation, and their development, should be kept under permanent review with particular emphasis on the production of satellite data in international boundary disputes where sensitive situations arising from claims of sovereignty are more likely to occur.