Mechanisms for Addressing Space Debris from the Perspective of International Law
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Jan 31, 2024
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Abstract
This paper explores the various mechanisms available for addressing the issue of space debris through the lens of international law. As human activities in space continue to increase, so does the accumulation of space debris, posing significant risks to satellites, spacecraft, and overall space operations. International law plays a crucial role in governing space activities and managing the growing problem of space debris. This paper examines the legal frameworks and mechanisms established at the international level to mitigate, prevent, and manage space debris. It analyzes treaties, agreements, guidelines, and principles relevant to space debris mitigation and explores the roles of different actors, including space agencies, governments, and international organizations, in implementing these mechanisms. The paper also discusses challenges and gaps in current legal frameworks and suggests potential avenues for enhancing international cooperation and coordination in addressing the issue of space debris. Through this examination, the paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the intersection between international law and space debris management and to inform future policy and decision-making in this critical area.
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Khasanah, Nur Barokah Uswatun, and Marc Johan Atsawin. 2024. “Mechanisms for Addressing Space Debris from the Perspective of International Law”. International Law Discourse in Southeast Asia 3 (1), 107-34. https://doi.org/10.15294/ildisea.v3i1.78885.
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References
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Schrogl, Kai-Uwe. "The new debate on the working methods of the UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee." Acta Astronautica 105, no. 1 (2014): 101-108.
Shan, Minghe, Jian Guo, and Eberhard Gill. "Review and comparison of active space debris capturing and removal methods." Progress in Aerospace Sciences 80 (2016): 18-32.
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Walls, Ramona L., et al. "Assessing the IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines: A case for ontology-based data management." AMOS Paper (2016).
White, Mary Victoria. "The Common Heritage of Mankind: An Assessment." Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law 14, no. 3 (1982): 509-542.
Wirin, William B. "The Sky is Falling: Managing Space Objects." Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation, Lausanne, Switzerland, October 7–13, 1984.
Witze, Alexandra. "The quest to conquer the space junk problem." Nature 561, no. 7721 (2018): 24-26.
Zannoni, Diego. "Disaster management and international space law." Disaster Management and International Space Law. (Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, 2019).
Zannoni, Diego. "Out of sight, out of mind? The proliferation of space debris and international law." Leiden Journal of International Law 35, no. 2 (2022): 295-314.
Baker, Howard A. “Space Debris: Legal Policy and Implication”, Thesis. (Quebec Canada: McGill University Montreal, 1988).
Ball, Stuart S. "The vertical extent of ownership in land." University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register 76, no. 6 (1928): 631-689.
Banner, Stuart. Who owns the sky? The struggle to control airspace from the Wright brothers on. (Harvard, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009).
Brachet, Gérard. "The origins of the “Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities” initiative at UN COPUOS." Space Policy 28, no. 3 (2012): 161-165.
Burke, Joseph A. "Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects: Definition and Determination of Damages After the Cosmos 954 Incident." Fordham International Law Journal 8, no. 2 (1984): 255-285.
Cheng, Chia-Jui, ed. The Use of Airspace and Outer Space for All Mankind in the 21st Century. (Leiden: BRILL, 2023).
Collis, Christy. "Res communis? A critical legal geography of outer space, Antarctica, and the deep seabed." Palgrave Handbook of Society, Culture and Outer Space (2016): 270-291.
Csabafi, Imre Anthony. The Concept of State Jurisdiction in International Space Law: A study in the Progressive Development of Space Law in the United Nations. (London: Springer, 2012).
Deudney, Daniel. Dark Skies: Space Expansionism, Planetary Geopolitics, and the Ends of Humanity. (Oxford, USA: Oxford University Press, 2020).
Edmunds, Sterling E. "Aerial Domain and the Law of Nations." St. Louis Law Review 8, no. 2 (1923): 88-97.
Elden, Stuart. Terror and Territory: The Spatial Extent of Sovereignty. (Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2009).
Foster, W. F. "The convention on international liability for damage caused by space objects." Canadian Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international 10 (1973): 137-185.
Gummer, W. K., et al. Cosmos 954. The occurence and nature of recovered debris. No. INFO--0006. Atomic Energy Control Board, 1980.
Heriyanto, Dodik Setiawan Nur, Yaries Mahardika Putro, and Haekal Al Asyari. "Space Diplomacy as A Way to Face The Era of Space Commercialization in Indonesia." Seminar Nasional Kebijakan Penerbangan dan Antariksa III (SINAS KPA-III), 2018.
Hobe, Stephan, and Kuan-Wei Chen. "Legal status of outer space and celestial bodies." Routledge Handbook of Space Law. (London: Routledge, 2016), pp. 45-61.
Hobe, Stephan, ed. Pioneers of Space Law: A publication of the International Institute of Space Law. (Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013).
Hobe, Stephan. "Legal Aspects of Space Tourism." Nebraska Law Review 86.2 (2007): 439-456.
Hollingsworth, Gabrielle. "Space Junk: Why the United Nations Must Step in to Save Access to Space." Santa Clara Law Review 53, no. 1 (2013): 239-266.
Jasentuliyana, Nandasiri. International Space Law and the United Nations. (Leiden: Brill, 2023).
Klinkrad, Heiner, et al. "The ESA space debris mitigation handbook 2002." Advances in Space Research 34, no. 5 (2004): 1251-1259.
Lambach, Daniel, and Luca Wesel. "Tackling the Space Debris Problem: A Global Commons Perspective." Proceedings 8th European Conference on Space Debris. 2021.
Li, Lawrence. "Space debris mitigation as an international law obligation: a critical analysis with reference to states practice and treaty obligation." International Community Law Review 17, no. 3 (2015): 297-335.
Lowder, Stacey L. "State's International Legal Role: From the Earth to the Moon, A." Tulsa Journal of Comparative and International Law 7, no. 1 (1999): 253-383.
Maogoto, Jackson Nyamuya, and Steven Freeland. "Space Weaponization and the United Nations Charter Regime on Force: A Thick Legal Fog or a Receding Mist?." The International Lawyer (2007): 1091-1119.
Martinez, Peter. "The UN COPUOS guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities." Journal of Space Safety Engineering 8, no. 1 (2021): 98-107.
Milowicki, Gene V., and Joan Johnson-Freese. "Strategic choices: examining the United States military response to the Chinese anti-satellite test." Astropolitics 6, no. 1 (2008): 1-21.
Neto, Olavo de Oliviera Bittencourt. Defining the Limits of Outer Space for Regulatory Purposes. (London: Springer, 2015).
Nugraha, Ridha Aditya, et al. "Air and Space Law Education: Preparing for the Future in China, Indonesia, Italy and Thailand." Hasanuddin Law Review 7, no. 3 (2021): 183-209.
Pelton, Joseph N. Space Debris and Other Threats from Outer Space. Vol. 331. (New York: Springer, 2013).
Permatasari, Yunita, and Antonia Rahayu Rosaria Wibowo. "International instrument relating to space debris: The value of environmental protection." AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 2941. No. 1. AIP Publishing, 2023.
Popova, Rada, and Volker Schaus. "The legal framework for space debris remediation as a tool for sustainability in outer space." Aerospace 5, no. 2 (2018): 55.
Power, Ellen, and Arn Keeling. "Cleaning up Cosmos: Satellite Debris, Radioactive Risk, and the Politics of Knowledge in Operation Morning Light." Northern Review 48 (2018): 81-109.
Prabandari, Adya Paramita. "Indonesia’s Air Sovereignty Issues in the Global Era." Diponegoro Law Review 4, no. 2 (2019): 181-193.
Purwanto, Harry. "Safeguarding the National Airspace of Indonesia under the Framework of International Air Law." Jurnal Hukum Novelty 12, no. 2 (2021): 191-203.
Roberts, Lawrence D. "Addressing the Problem of Orbital Space Debris: Combining International Regulatory and Liability Regimes." Boston College International and Comparative Law Review 15, no. 1 (1992): 51-73.
Sadeh, Eligar, James P. Lester, and Willy Z. Sadeh. "Modeling international cooperation for space exploration." Space Policy 12, no. 3 (1996): 207-223.
Sadeh, Eligar. "International Space Governance: Challenges for the Global Space Community." Recent Developments in Space Law: Opportunities & Challenges (2017): 43-59.
Schmalenbach, Kirsten. "Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects." Corporate Liability for Transboundary Environmental Harm: An International and Transnational Perspective. (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022), pp. 523-536.
Schrogl, Kai-Uwe. "The new debate on the working methods of the UNCOPUOS Legal Subcommittee." Acta Astronautica 105, no. 1 (2014): 101-108.
Shan, Minghe, Jian Guo, and Eberhard Gill. "Review and comparison of active space debris capturing and removal methods." Progress in Aerospace Sciences 80 (2016): 18-32.
Sheehan, Michael. The International Politics of Space. (London: Routledge, 2007).
Walls, Ramona L., et al. "Assessing the IADC Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines: A case for ontology-based data management." AMOS Paper (2016).
White, Mary Victoria. "The Common Heritage of Mankind: An Assessment." Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law 14, no. 3 (1982): 509-542.
Wirin, William B. "The Sky is Falling: Managing Space Objects." Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space, International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation, Lausanne, Switzerland, October 7–13, 1984.
Witze, Alexandra. "The quest to conquer the space junk problem." Nature 561, no. 7721 (2018): 24-26.
Zannoni, Diego. "Disaster management and international space law." Disaster Management and International Space Law. (Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, 2019).
Zannoni, Diego. "Out of sight, out of mind? The proliferation of space debris and international law." Leiden Journal of International Law 35, no. 2 (2022): 295-314.