National Laws and Regulations to Ensure Space Sustainability

Overview

The 2022 Symposium was held in hybrid/virtual format on 5 April, 15:00 – 17:00 Vienna Time (CEST) in Board Room D, Vienna International Centre.

A panel of prestigious speakers discussed the following subject: “National Laws and Regulations to Ensure Space Sustainability” on the margins of the 61st session of the Legal Subcommittee of the UN COPUOS.

Please find an abstract and the Symposium programme below.

This IISL/ECSL Annual Symposium on Space Law is co-organised every year by IISL and ECSL and takes place during the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) in Vienna, Austria. Both IISL and ECSL are permanent observers to the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee.

This Symposium brings together academic experts and leading practitioners in the field of space law, policy and regulation to discuss pressing issues and to propose solutions to the international community.

Abstract of the Symposium Programme

Ensuring sustainable uses of space is one of the greatest challenges faced by contemporary international space law. The enactment of national laws and regulations in that regard represents a step forward towards effective management of sustainability. Nevertheless, domestic initiatives should also acknowledge emerging international principles and best practices, thus minimizing the risk of regulatory
fragmentation.

After ten years of complex negotiations, in 2019 the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space adopted a set of 21 “Guidelines for Long-Term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities”, a foundational document providing international guidance on the policy and regulatory framework
for space sustainability.

The 2019 LTS Guidelines represent an excellent starting point, whose provisions now need to be widely
implemented by relevant national and international actors. To ensure the sustainable uses of outer space, collaboration among all key stakeholders in the space community is required: not only
national lawmakers and governments, but also companies and civil society at large, with special consideration for the young generations.

The 2022 edition of the IISL/ECSL Symposium dealt with the implementation of the 2019 LTS Guidelines, considering actions at the national and international levels designed towards the achievement of space sustainability. The selected speakers represented perspectives from different space actors, pragmatically addressing current challenges and shared concerns. Thus, the Legal Subcommittee was informed and supported in its next steps regarding sustainability in outer space.

Symposium programme