UNIS/OS/349
22 March 2007

Background Release

Outer Space Legal Subcommittee to Hold 46th Session in Vienna

          VIENNA, 22 March (UN Information Service) -- The practice of States and international organizations in registering space objects will be a key item on the agenda of the 46th session of the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The session will take place from 26 March to 5 April in Vienna, Austria.

Other topics include the status and application of the five United Nations treaties on outer space, the definition and delimitation of outer space, the draft protocol on matters specific to space assets to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, review and possible revision of the Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space and matters relating to the character and use of the geostationary orbit. As in previous sessions of the Subcommittee, international organizations are invited to report on their activities relating to space law.

A symposium will be dedicated to capacity building in space law and consist of two sessions, "Teaching and Education" and "Training and Capacity Building".

Practice of States and international organizations in registering space objects

This year marks an important milestone in the work of the Subcommittee on this issue, as the Subcommittee should finalize and present a report with conclusions and recommendations regarding the practice of States and international organizations in registering space objects to COPUOS.

The Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (the Registration Convention) requires States launching objects such as satellites, to make information on the launched object available to the United Nations. Based on this information, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) maintains the United Nations Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space, for which it also provides an online searchable index.

Definition and delimitation of outer space

The Subcommittee will discuss the definition and delimitation of outer space. The working group on that matter will review responses by member States to a questionnaire on possible legal issues with regard to aerospace objects. The working group will also examine replies by member States on national legislation or any national practices that may exist or are being developed, relating directly or indirectly to the definition and/or delimitation of outer space.

Status and application of the five United Nations treaties on outer space

The working group on this item will discuss the status of the treaties, the review of their implementation and obstacles to their universal acceptance, as well as the promotion of space law, especially through the United Nations Programme on Space Applications.

Registering property interests in space assets

Another item on the agenda of the Subcommittee is the examination and review of the developments concerning the draft protocol on matters specific to space assets to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. The Convention establishes a general legal framework for registering interests in mobile high-value equipment that move across national boundaries, such as aeroplanes and trains. The protocol on matters specific to space assets, which is aimed at establishing an international system for registering property interests in space assets, such as satellites, is being developed by the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), an intergovernmental organization not affiliated to the United Nations.

Symposium

The symposium will be dedicated to capacity building in space law and will contain two sessions,  "Teaching and Education" and "Training and Capacity Building".                      The symposium is jointly organized by the International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation and the European Centre for Space Law and will be held in the afternoons of the first and second days of the Subcommittee's session. The programme will include presentations by leading experts on teaching and education and training and capacity building in space law.

Membership

The Legal Subcommittee, like COPUOS, its parent committee, has the following 67 Member States:  Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Viet Nam.

The following inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations have permanent observer status with COPUOS: Association of Space Explorers, Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, Committee on Space Research, Regional Centre for Remote Sensing of the North African States, Eurisy, European Space Agency, European Space Policy Institute, International Academy of Astronautics, International Astronautical Federation, International Astronomical Union, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, International Law Association, International Mobile Satellite Organization, Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, International Space University, National Space Society, Space Generation Advisory Council, Spaceweek International Association and The Planetary Society.

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to review the scope of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programmes in this field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer space matters and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space. COPUOS and its two Subcommittees each meet annually to consider questions put before them by the General Assembly, reports submitted to them and issues raised by the Member States. The Committee and the Subcommittees, working on the basis of consensus, make recommendations to the General Assembly.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) implements the decisions of the General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Office is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and assisting developing countries in using space science and technology. Located in Vienna, Austria, OOSA maintains a website at http://www.unoosa.org/.

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For information, please contact:

Romana Kofler
Associate Programme Officer
Telephone: +43 1 26060-4962
E-mail: romana.kofler@unvienna.org