The IISL President Kai-Uwe Schrogl presented during the Luxembourg Space Resources Week 2022 on 4 May 2022 in the Session on Law and Regulations on the topic of « Harmful Impact » in the Space Treaties: Responsibility and Liability.
The presentation outlined that when discussing harmful impact, it was necessary to differentiate between intended and non-intended harmful impact; harmful impact resulting from actions of governmental vs. non-governmental actors; and harmful impact resulting from disregard of legally binding vs. non-legally binding instruments. It was noted that harmful impact could concern i.a.: physical damage, freedom of use, benefit and interest of all countries, peaceful uses and purposes, due regard to corresponding interests, as well as harmful contamination (see e.g. ITU regulations on harmful interference and prevention from equitable access).
Prof. Kai-Uwe Schrogl further discussed the two key concepts in the UN treaties on outer space relating to harmful impact: the « launching State » as determined by the Liability and Registration Conventions as the State liable for damage resulting from space activities, and the « appropriate State » referred to in Art. VI of the Outer Space Treaty. In this regard, the presentation referred to the recent position paper by the IISL Board of Directors on authorization and continuous supervision of commercial space activities of July 2021.
