In this article, Hardik Khatri discusses the reasons why India needs a robust Space Law.

Introduction

Space law can be described as the branch of law which regulates all the space-related activities in the country. The question of Space Law began to arise after the launch of the World’s first artificial satellite (Sputnik) in the year 1957 by The Soviet Union. In the beginning of 1957 all nations had started the talks on how will the activities of space be regulated and it was the Bilateral discussions held between The US and The then USSR now Russia which had taken this point in the United Nation for a debate and as a result of which the UN constituted a committee named as United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) as a result of which two Subcommittees were again created which was the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and Legal Subcommittee.

The UNCOPUOS has been the primary institution which has regulated the talks on the international agreements on the outer space and the talks also resulted in the formulation of certain treaties which will be discussed at a later stage.

As far as India’s position in Space Law is concerned it is very disheartening to know that there are no laws in this particular field. India being such a promising nation has made it among the top nations which are the supergiants in space-related activities and among other things the big giants such as the US, Japan, Russia, are having their domestic space legislations but yet India has no legislation whatsoever.

The revolution in Space-related activities in India dates back to 1963 when the first ever rocket was launched by India and then in 1975 with the launch of its first ever scientific satellite in space named as Aryabhatta. Then in the year 1994 India finally achieved the Indigenous satellite launch capability with the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) India has now specially made PSLV and GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle). The credit should be duly given to two scientists namely Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai for their diligence in the research and finally to make this dream come true for the Country.

With the success that the country has achieved be it the successful missions of Chandrayan or MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission), it is right to say that India has come at par with the likes of Russia, US, Japan etc. And the world also expects the same kind of response from India but sadly the country has no laws regarding the same. So in the further article why the Domestic Space Legislation is the need of the hour for the country will be discussed in a more precise way.

Space law Internationally

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) has further formulated certain treaties onto the outer space and has regularly tried to bring clarity in Space related activities these are:

• The Outer Space Treaty, 1967
• The Rescue Agreement, 1968
• The Liability Convention, 1972
• The Registration Convention, 1975
• The Moon Treaty, 1979

The main point to note here is that India has ratified four treaties out of the five treaties mentioned above and the remaining one treaty India has signed but not ratified. But still, after 40 years of the treaties being ratified no actions have been taken by the Parliament to ensure the enactment of domestic laws onto those treaties. So the question arises how are the space activities being governed in the countries which are answered in the next Topic.

How are the space activities currently regulated?

Currently, the Space related matters are governed by the supreme law of the land (Constitution of India) and by also certain policies such as the Satellite Communications Policy, 2000 and the revised Remote Data Sensing Policy, 2011. Meanwhile, certain articles of the constitution also help in governing the space-related matters:

• Article 51 of the Constitution says that The State is under an obligation to (a)promote international peace and security, (b) maintain just and honorable relations between nations, (c) respect for International Law and Treaty obligation and (d) to encourage settlement of the International dispute by way of Arbitration.
• Article 73 says that the executive power of the Union extends to (a) the matter relating to which Parliament has the Power to make laws, (b) to exercise of such rights, authority and jurisdiction as one exercisable by the Government of India by virtue of any treaty or agreement.
• The Satellite Communication Policy 2000 only talks about what the government wishes to do and what are the future prospects of how to launch vehicles and regulation of equipment Industry related to Space activities in India.

Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016

Though it is clear that India has no domestic laws on Space but the country has taken baby steps towards formulating the Space Laws. This particular bill grants license to individuals who want to obtain Geospatial Information and no one can get the Geospatial information illegally and can only obtain it with the prior permission of the Government. For the sake of clarity “Geospatial Information” means any information obtained by way of satellites, air crafts, balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles, maps, terrestrial photos etc.

Though it has become clear how the space related activities are governed in the country it is pertinent to note that with the developments made in Space Field it is very much the need of the hour to draft a more precise, simplified legislation onto the space-related matters as there are several reasons assigned to the same as well so what are the glitches which are making India’s approach towards the Space activities look unorthodox and why India desperately needs a Space law has been discussed below.

Reasons why India needs a robust Space Law

The recent developments made in the Space field such as Chandrayan, Mars Orbiter Mission and that 104 Satellites launched in one go frames a very important question as to why a Superpower country like India is not having its own Domestic Space Law because a Country which is overtaking lot of Countries in this Field would have to face lot of challenges as well, discussed below are the challenges which are faced or which will be faced in future if no Space Legislation is framed in the upcoming days. Since a well-drafted Space law will put the Government at ease as hence a legislation is needed.

Space debris

Space Debris is nothing but a wasteful collection of man-made objects that are there in orbit above the Earth and the objects can be any satellites, Rocket Stage etc. However, the Government doesn’t seem to worry about it and the recent move of ISRO launching a record 104 satellites has been praised all over the world but heavily criticised by G. Madhavan Nair, Former Chairman of ISRO. Mr Madhavan even went on to say that this could heavily impact the functioning of other satellites as collisions with other satellites can take place which may result in Damages being paid by India. So the point of discussion then arises as to who is under the liability of leaving so much junk. But do we address such issues no we don’t, Recently only because of Space Debris an Indian Satellite which was retracting back to Earth fell on a Japanese Village and under the Convention on International Liability for DamagCauseded by Space Objects, 1972 India has an absolute liability to pay compensation for the damages caused but who decides how much to pay a well established guidelines but sadly India has no law regarding it.

Space tourism

Though still in its baby steps this point is something which is predicted as the Future where Virgin Galactic is charging $250,00 for a trip to Space to exceed 100km in altitude, on the other hand, a trip to Mars could cost $200,000 while traveling with SpaceX. Among these things India has found itself in a perplexing condition because there are no laws which regulate these new concept of Space Tourism and the country is known for its cost efficient techniques so now major companies such as Blue Origin, SpaceX are looking to invest in India thinking that it could bring down the cost of Space Tourism as India did with Mars Orbiter Mission. So the future is bright for the Indian space agency and it is necessary that we address issues like these by enacting a domestic Space Law.

Space mining

Space mining is the extraction of valuable minerals from the objects of Space such as asteroids, Moon, Planets etc. In future there is going to be a whole new industry of Space Mining and the USA has started towards achieving that goal by the enactment of their Space Law, the law also recognises private players mining in the space bodies so India should not lag behind and should do the same as in the upcoming years the space is going to be exploited for minerals such as gold, platinum, diamond etc. And it is necessary that India is also getting the benefits. Meanwhile, USA is doing mining openly by the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 which says that if American individuals or companies found any material on an asteroid or the moon it is theirs to keep and they can do whatever they want with it with which clearly shows that they are exploiting the Space bodies.

Space war

Due to the developments in Space activities the elite nations are expoilting and oppress the other countries and this might well lead to a Space war between the Elite countries an example of the same is Russia which has jammed GPS reception in Ukraine; China hacking the US weather satellites, North Korea which has jammed signals over the demilitarized zone. This whole concept of Space War was just a science fiction a few decades back but scientists claim that we soon may see countries fighting for territories in Space and so India which has made a big jump by overtaking a lot of space giants nations needs to think how the satellites launched by India can stay safe in Space.

Space Insurance

These matters are still dealt with the domestic insurance law that the country has and this approach has proven nowhere to be effective, considering the high cost that the activities of space incur it is the need of the hour that a well framed Space Law be enacted which addresses such issues and ensures that those satellites which fail are insured as per the law.

Outsourcing the private sector

The space agency of the country ISRO has opened the gate and has given the permissions to the private sector to enter the space markets so that the burden on ISRO’s shoulders is reduced. A high-tech defense Supplier from Bengaluru Alpha Design Technologies has been chosen as the first private Industry to manufacture two satellites for ISRO, such outsourcing to the private sector will require a comprehensive licensing and registration protocol to be followed which can only be addressed by the space legislation. Also Increased private participation in Indian space activities would allow ISRO to concentrate on cutting edge areas and they can research on deep space probes.

Cost effective

Recent impacts made by India in the Space sector shows that India is totally a reliable country as a launching pad for satellites and the cost effective space programs that India offers have attracted other countries and MNCs. They have also entered into agreements with India for executing their Space Projects and launching of satellites. So the need is for a well framed domestic law on Space so that such agreements can be governed comfortably.

Conclusion

These are some issues because of which there is an urgency in the country for a Space legislation. Therefore, having a legislation which will be broadly cover all these contemporary issues and matters related to space is the main requirement. The legislation on Space should cover all aspects such as implementation of space programmes, and regulation on the safety of launch and space flight, the question of transit of foreign space objects through national airspace, questions of liability. Moreso, it should also cover Responsibility, protection of IPR, Dispute Resolution, Protection of Environment and Ecology and International Cooperation as well.

Currently, there are only 22 nations all over the world that are having their own space legislation and India being such an Super power should strive for a National Space law as that will really boost India’s space activities and  therefore, a robust Space legislation is crucial for the development of the country and the absence of the legislation will only delay India’s growth in future.