ReportSpace law conference 2001: Legal challenges and commercial opportunities for Asia
Introduction
The Space Law Conference 2001 was organized by the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), with the Society of International Law, Singapore (SILS).1 This was the first in a new series of regional IISL conferences, to be held every two years, which complement IISL's annual Colloquia on the Law of Outer Space, which are held in conjunction with the International Astronautical Congresses of the IAF.2
Over 120 participants from over 20 countries participated in the conference, which was sponsored by Singapore Technologies and Singapore Telecommunications, which made it possible to have participation from most parts of Asia, providing a forum for the exchange of views and experiences, and for strengthening regional cooperation. Ambassador Prof. Tommy Koh (President of SILS) was instrumental in making the conference a success. Ambassador P. Jankowitsch (Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Austrian Space Agency), Dr. N. Jasentuliyana (President of IISL) and Prof. R. Beckman (Executive Director of SILS) chaired the sessions. Dr. R.M. Ramirez de Arellano (Mexico) and Prof. E. Back Impallomeni (Italy) served as co-chairs. The author of this report was the Coordinator of the Conference.
Five sessions were held for the following topics:
Each session consisted of a discussion paper and two commentary papers. After the presentation, up to one hour was dedicated to the discussion among all participants.
Section snippets
Opening session
The Attorney General of Singapore, Mr. Chan Sek Keong, delivered the opening address. He focused on Asia's need to position itself in order to take advantage of the commercial opportunities presented by space and telecommunications. He emphasized that Asia is a large region encompassing countries with and without space capability, and one must take into account the interests of developing countries. He hoped that the conference would help to build a strong regional team of space law and policy
Session 1—space law and the expanding role of private enterprise
In his discussion paper, Dr. F. von der Dunk (Netherlands) raised the question of whether private enterprises’ interests are sufficiently heeded by the body of international space law, and whether, at the same time, the interests of the public at large are sufficiently protected against the undesirable (side-) effects of private enterprise's entry into outer space. He gave an extensive analysis of the concepts of responsibility and liability, to be controlled via jurisdiction, and elaborated on
Session 2—safeguarding the concept of public service
The paper for this session was written by Prof. Ram Jakhu (Canada). He provided the general context for a paper by Prof. F. Lyall (UK) in the Journal of Space Law on the privatization of Intelsat, which illustrated how the concepts of public service and global public interest are compromised and how they could be safeguarded. The two commentary papers were written by Prof. Abu Bakar Munir (Malaysia) and Ms. Patricia Sterns (USA).
A number of important issues were raised, reviewed and discussed
Session 3—the legal regulation of remote sensing
Dr. Ida Bagus Rahmadi Supancana of Indonesia presented Prof. Priyatna Abdurrasyid's discussion paper, which deliberated on the development of the UN space treaties and principles with regard to commercial remote sensing activities, providing further views on the benefit of remote sensing for Indonesia. He stated that prior consent is necessary to ensure regional cooperation, and that active participation in regional and international cooperation is necessary. It was proposed that a regional
Session 4—settlement of disputes arising in relation to space commercialization
The discussion paper by Prof. Chia-jui Cheng (Taiwan) emphasized the need for a new set of dispute settlement machinery to handle scientifically and technologically highly controversial cases involving diverse participants in space activities. The existing systems are unable to effectively address the new problems posed by disputes between states and private entities and between two private entities. Prof. Cheng focused on arbitration as a useful means of space dispute settlement, indicating
Session 5—legal issues of expanding global satellite communications and navigation satellite services
In his discussion paper, Prof. F. Lyall (UK) addressed all the issues in the topic that he was assigned. He proceeded through a great deal of analysis on the current issues plaguing the ITU in the regulation of telecommunications services. Regarding the issue of “first-come-first served” vs. a priori allotment, he argued that preference should be given to the former, because so many states have neither the finance nor the capacity to put a satellite in orbit or to supervise those to whom they
Lunch speeches
Two important topics were addressed during lunch. On the first day, Dr. A. Noll (former ITU Legal Adviser) gave a stimulating talk about the ITU in the 21st century. He gave a retrospective of this “grand old lady” established in 1865, and mentioned some of the challenges it would have to cope with in the 21st century, including the little LEO industry, radio-navigation satellite services (Glonass, GPS, Galileo), and the internet. He also mentioned the new “policy fora”, which provide an
Conclusions of the conference
Each session came up with some clear conclusions, which are summarized below:(1) There is a clear need for national space legislation to regulate the activities of private entities, and such legislation must include a licencing system. (2) International concerted efforts are needed to safeguard the global public interest and the interests of developing countries, which are jeopardized by ongoing privatization and commercialization. (3) The time has come for a legal instrument relating to remote
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express many thanks to the rapporteurs for their input: Michael Ewing-Chow and Tan Kok Peng from Singapore, Masami Onoda from Japan, Ricky Lee from Australia and Doddy Supancana from Indonesia. Thanks are also due to our sponsors, Singapore Technologies and Singapore Telecommunications, and to the Society of International Law Singapore, its Executive Director Bob Beckman for the great cooperation, and its President Tommy Koh for his vision and his trust.