Dispute settlement, suborbital flights, use of satellite data and space debris removal (Part One)

MAUREEN WILLIAMS (AS PRESIDENT OF THE SPACE LAW COMMITTEE OF THE ILA

Washington DC

Congreso; Seventy-Sixth Conference of the International Law Association; 2014

International Law Association

   Current mandate of the Space Law Committee (2012-2016)   As stated on the ILA website, under the title Legal Aspects of the Privatisation and Commercialisation of Space Activities, the Fifth Report of this Committee (Sofia 2012) discussed the value of satellite data in court, national space legislation, space debris, dispute settlement and registration issues. These were the central areas on which the Committee reported (2004-2012). The 2012 Sofia Conference adopted the Committee Report without dissent. This included the topics mentioned below (Part I of the Report) and the Sofia Guidelines on a Model Law for National Space Legislation (Part II).  The Report and related information is on the ILA website (www.ila-hq.org, click on ?Committees? and then on ?Space Law?).   The Committee has an established and continuing relationship with the UN institutions dealing with space law and, in addition to its on-going work with these bodies, the topics under the new mandate (2012-2016) include:   (a) dispute settlement and the 2011 PCA Rules on Arbitration, (b) legal aspects of suborbital flights, (c) satellite data in international litigation and (d) new developments on space debris.   Moreover, the Committee will keep a general watching brief over further developments during the four-year mandate. What follows are some guidelines for your comments on our terms of reference.