Air and Space Law Commons^™

Pave Outer Space And Put Up A Parking Lot: Lagrange Points Should Be The Common Heritage Of Mankind, David A. Koplow

Michigan Journal of International Law

Outer space offers a vast array of opportunities, with different locations or regions available for exploitation by diverse users for a growing variety of satellite functions. But not all sectors of space are equally valuable for all applications, and the most desirable venues can become crowded, affording a premium for those who gain access first and impeding the development of a fair and efficient all-inclusive international legal regime.

This article focuses on Lagrange points, a finite series of special locations in space where the gravitational forces from a pair of large celestial bodies interact in unusual ways. These points afford …

Man On Mars: How Can International Space Law Limit The Environmental Consequences Of The Coming Rush For Resources In Space, Elizabeth Anne Henderson

Michigan Journal of International Law

The body of international law governing space has stood at a standstill for decades. The five central treaties regulating this area of law are not only vague, but they have also become a hindrance to the global community’s ability to address the rapidly intensifying second space race. The treaties do not adequately state who space belongs to, who is entitled to take advantage of the natural resources of celestial bodies, or what protections are afforded to celestial environments in the face of impending mining and resource extraction projects. This impasse within international law has not stopped entrepreneurs and corporations from …

Space, The Final Frontier Of Enterprise: Incentivizing Asteroid Mining Under A Revised International Framework, Jack Heise

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Note argues that the Outer Space Treaty (the “OST”) should be modified to provide explicit permission for private entities to engage in asteroid mining while maintaining the principles of international peace and cooperation that the treaty espouses as the core of the framework governing outer space. Part I explores the current state of asteroid mining with reference to the current objectives of companies conducting missions in this realm. Part II examines the OST as applied to the enterprise of asteroid mining by private companies. Part III considers the benefits and drawbacks of various regulatory schemes to govern asteroid mining. …

Satmed: Legal Aspects Of The Physical Layer Of Satellite Telemedicine, Stephen Rooke

Michigan Journal of International Law

In 2003, Paul Hunt, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights' Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, presented a report on the global availability of health care. Special Rapporteur Hunt argued that states are obligated to implement a right to health. Included in this right is the obligation "to ensure that no international agreement or policy adversely impacts upon the right to health, and that .. . international organizations take due account of the right to health, as well as the obligation of international assistance and cooperation, in all policy-making matters." One area Hunt left unexplored in his report was …

Libya And The Aerial Incident At Lockerbie: What Lessons For International Extradition Law?, Christopher C. Joyner, Wayne P. Rothbaum

Michigan Journal of International Law

Does concerted action taken by the U.N. Security Council against Libya bolster the international extradition process? Or do these resolutions represent little more than a new coat of legal paint on the same old political problems? This article seeks to answer these questions through an analysis of the nature of terrorism, the customary bases for jurisdiction and extradition, and the validity of Libya's refusal to surrender the Lockerbie suspects.

Sharing The Benefits Of Outer Space Exploration: Space Law And Economic Development, Edwin W. Paxson Iii

Michigan Journal of International Law

Part I of this Note will outline the evolution of space law as it concerns the sharing of benefits debate. Part II will analyze interpretations of the provisions of the two treaties central in the sharing of benefits debate, and will focus the debate by discussing the lunar mining issue. Part III will consider the challenge the New International Economic Order concept poses to legal obligations to share benefits. Part IV will evaluate various ways to share benefits and propose a new method which could promote economic development without hampering the incentive to conduct outer space exploration.

The Need For An Effective Liability Régime For Damage Caused By Debris In Outer Space, James P. Lampertius

Michigan Journal of International Law

The purpose of this Note is to point out the failure of the current liability system to provide for an adequate legal mechanism of recovery for damage or loss of life caused by collisions with space debris. International responsibility for national activities in outer space is a fundamental principle of international law. Yet a claim attributed to damage by space debris is "difficult, if not impossible, to prove" under the current liability system. This Note analyzes the major difficulties in establishing liability for damage and presents a number of solutions to overcome these obstacles to recovery.

The Large Civil Aircraft Industry: Applying Legal Policy-Making Tools To Accommodate A Changing Industry, Dennis G. Terez

Michigan Journal of International Law

This note first examines the emergence of Airbus Industrie (Al or Airbus) and identifies some of the legal and policy instruments which the European governments have employed to make Al a successful competitor. After a brief discussion of the growing difficulties with subsidy policies, the note considers European Community legislation for a common European industrial policy and the creation of a European Export Bank as possible alternative solutions for maintaining Al's competitiveness. The note finally argues that international industrial agreements are necessary legal tools for effective regulation of the manufacture and sale of large civil aircraft. International agreements currently in …

The Political Economy Of Orbit Spectrum Leasing, Harvey Levin

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article will propose several plans for allocating a common resource of the earth-the international orbit spectrum--among nations through mechanisms designed to introduce market incentives. The rights to orbital "parking places" are so defined as to permit their subdivision, recombination, and assignment in lease markets. The lease market approach accommodates the interests of both developed countries (DCs), who have the technology and domestic demand to establish satellite systems today, and less-developed countries (LDCs), who seek long-range planning to guarantee them access to the orbit spectrum at a time in the future when they, too, possess the capability and need. In …

Steps Toward A European Agreement On Satellite Broadcasting, Frits W. Hondius

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article is a progress report, written at the beginning of 1983. It is about the unfolding of a new communications medium, satellite broadcasting, in Europe. It is very probable that by the time of publication, many new developments will have taken place. However, this analysis may still be helpful later on to allow those responsible for the development and use of this powerful new channel of communication to know what the expectations and apprehensions were in 1983. Feedback from history is indispensable to builders of the future, provided that someone is willing to commit to paper a record of …

The Space Warc: International Accommodations For Satellite Communications, Martin A. Rothblatt

Michigan Journal of International Law

Communication satellites in geostationary orbit have the marvelous ability to permit information exchange across very large distances. These satellites can accomplish this feat because they are high enough above the earth's surface to be in the "line-of-sight" of microwave transmitters and receivers many thousands of miles apart. Although communication satellites were first used to relay information between continents, by the end of the 1970s they were being used increasingly to transmit information within large countries. This more recent usage, known as "domestic satellite service," is an attractive substitute for lengthy terrestrial microwave or cable networks.

Some Conflicting Trends In Satellite Telecommunications, David M. Leive

Michigan Journal of International Law

Two broad trends are evident today in international satellite telecommunications. The first is a trend towards greater international regulation of the natural resources involved, the radio frequency spectrum and the geostationary satellite orbit. The second is a trend towards international and regional groupings in the provision of communications services among countries. Other articles in this volume discuss various aspects of one or the other of these trends, such as the 1985/1988 Space WARC, and regional satellite developments in Europe. Consequently, no attempt is made here to analyze the two trends fully. The principal point of this paper is to analyze …

Eutelsat: Europe's Satellite Telecommunications, Simone Courteix

Michigan Journal of International Law

In the 1950s long distance telephone communication by wire or Herz circuit was extremely limited and usually very expensive. In 1956, the installation of the first transatlantic telephone cable, TAT 1, signaled the beginning of the present era in intercontinental telecommunications. However, it soon became apparent that underwater cables would not meet the ever-increasing demand for communications created by expanding global economic activity. At the same time, radio communications also experienced growing demand, and suffered from overcrowded frequencies. It was therefore natural that the first application of telecommunications technology in space focused on the improvement of intercontinental circuits.

Major Legal Issues Arising From The Use Of The Geostationary Orbit, Stephen Gorove

Michigan Journal of International Law

The remarkable scientific and technological developments of the past three decades have resulted in the increasing use of the "geostationary orbit.” Advances in the technology of broadcasting, meteorological reconnaissance, tracking and data relay from orbital satellites, for example, have greatly enlarged its importance. The growing number of geostationary satellites and the anticipated increases in their use have evoked widespread concerns among many less-developed countries (LDCs) about the early preemption of available orbital positions by more developed nations. Attention has focused on the question of the maximum number of satellites that can be accommodated in the orbit. Although estimates have varied …

Legal Framework Of Communications Programs In The European Space Agency, W. M. Thiebaut

Michigan Journal of International Law

The establishment of the ESC gave Europe the necessary impetus to start applications programs. In 1968, the third ESC ministerial meeting at Bad Godesberg, Federal Republic of Germany, unequivocally assigned space applications to ESRO, created the Committee of Senior Officials as an advisory board, and allocated a small budget for studies on application satellites. The Committee of Senior Officials set up a working group specifically to study possible European involvement in communication satellite programs. This working group consisted not only of representatives of the ESC and the space organizations ELDO and ESRO but also of the potential users of the …

Current Issues In Remote Sensing, I. H. Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor

Michigan Journal of International Law

In this article certain problems surrounding Satellite remote sensing (SRS) will be addressed with particular emphasis on their legal implications. Aspects of air law as they affect remote sensing will not be discussed in any detail, nor will it be necessary to refer to the vexing problem of determining the satisfactory boundary between the airspace and outer space. This fundamental problem is still in dispute and under constant review, both in scholarly circles and in the United Nations; and the world community may consider itself fortunate that the issue has not prevented a number of important international agreements on space …

Index, Michigan Journal Of International Law

Michigan Journal of International Law

Index of terms used in this volume.