Perry on Liability for Space-Related Activities

Ronen Perry has posted to SSRN To Boldly Go Where No Law Has Gone Before:  Liability for Space-Related Activities.  The abstract provides:

Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented proliferation of space-related activities, driven by an increasingly diverse array of participants pursuing an ever-broadening range of ambitions. As known risks intensify and new risks emerge, the law governing liability for extraterrestrial mishaps must keep pace, ensuring that the final frontier does not become a lawless domain of unchecked harm. The Article is the first to comprehensively appraise the weaknesses and gaps in existing law on liability for space-related activities and propose guidelines for legal development and reform, corresponding not only to present-day needs but also to a farsighted vision of the future. It holistically evaluates international and national laws, yet its innovative structure follows fundamental distinctions in international law to highlight and address the broader issues rather than any idiosyncrasies of specific national systems.

Part I discusses harm caused by Earth-launched space objects. This category of cases, which is the only one that the drafters of the international regime envisioned and feared, is subject to the most developed legal framework. The Article shows that the law concerning injuries on Earth is relatively well-developed and does not present unique challenges. In contrast, the law on outer-space injuries might leave many victims with no redress and therefore requires creative solutions.

Part II examines wrongful conduct and harmful events on board Earth-launched space objects. Resolution of these cases may entail some extension of terrestrial jurisdiction and law, as an exception to the general prohibition on any claim of sovereignty in space. The Article critically evaluates the two currently used extension methods: (1) the Outer Space Treaty’s extension of State jurisdiction to registered space objects and (2) mission- or locus-specific agreements on jurisdiction, applicable tort law, specific loss allocation rules, and dispute resolution mechanisms.

Part III analyzes space incidents not involving Earth-launched objects, either because the objects that cause harm or on which a wrong is committed were not launched from Earth or because the incident occurs outside any artificial space object. Here, existing law is mostly silent, and a fundamental reform is necessary. The Article assesses three possible solutions: (1) a nationality-based extension of terrestrial jurisdiction, (2) a modified registration-based extension of terrestrial jurisdiction, and (3) the establishment of new space legal systems.