Need to review international law regulating space; Punjabi University conducts study

A study by Punjabi University has highlighted the need to draw a legal boundary between airspace and space and to reconsider the issue of space debris polluting space.

These points were brought forward by Harmandeep Kaur while analysing the international legal norms related to space under the supervision of Professor Gurpreet Kaur Pannu.

Prof Gurpreet Kaur Pannu said the study has revealed that there is a need to review the international law regulating space, as the existing legal regime in this regard has now become outdated in line with scientific and technological developments. She said that in India, there is a lack of specific law regulating space activities. In India, only a policy from 2023 has been introduced in this regard, which is not sufficient to deal with various aspects related to space matters.

She said that the study also shows that the state should not be held responsible for the activities of private institutions related to space matters, but the concerned institution itself should be responsible. She said that by studying this subject in detail through this study, it was found that outer space begins above 'airspace', where it has no boundaries at the international level. S

he said that the Von Karman line theory describes airspace and outer space, according to which the boundary between space and outer space is considered to be at an altitude of 100 km/62 miles above sea level.

Researcher Harmandeep Kaur stated that in the past, only two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, were active in the field of space exploration. However, now there are more countries working in this direction. Therefore, it has become necessary to work towards its legal regulation. She stated that the study revealed that there are five basic international treaties regulating space activities.

These treaties include the 'Moon and Other Celestial Bodies 1967', 'Convention on the Safety of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space 1968', 'Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects 1972', 'Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space 1975', and 'Convention Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies 1979'.

In addition to these treaties, a study was made of several international documents governing space activities, the space agencies of various countries, and other international regulations in this regard. During the study, it was revealed that no specific space regulatory law has been made in India yet. She said that there are many aspects of this subject that need to be addressed.