(Resulting from the research and discussions since 1986 in the ILA Space Law Committee and adopted by the 66th Conference of the International Law Association, Buenos Aires, August)
For the purposes of this Instrument:
(a) "Contamination/pollution" means a human
modification of the environment by the introduction of undesirable
elements or by the undesirable use of those elements.
(b) "Contamination/pollution" will be considered
as synonyms and are inclusive of all harmful elements other
than space debris.
(c) "Space debris" means man-made objects
in outer space, other than active or otherwise useful satellites,
when no change can reasonably be expected in these conditions
in the foreseeable future.
Space debris may result, inter alia, from:
Routine space operations including spent stages
of rockets and space vehicles, and hardware released during normal
maneuvers.
Orbital explosions and satellite breakups,
whether intentional or accidental.
- Collision-generated debris.
- Particles and other forms of pollution ejected,
for example, by solid rocket exhaust.
Abandoned satellites.
(d) "Environment", for the purposes of
this Instrument, includes both the outer space and earth environments
within or beyond national jurisdiction.
(e) "Damage" means loss of life, personal injury or other impairment of health, or loss of or damage to property of States or of persons, natural or juridical, or property of international intergovernmental organisations, or any adverse modification of the environment of areas within or beyond national jurisdiction or control.
The instrument shall be applicable to space debris which causes or is likely to cause direct or indirect, instant or delayed damage to the environment, or to persons or objects.
1. States and international organisations parties
to this Instrument shall cooperate directly, and/or through the
pertinent international organisations, to protect the environment
and implement this instrument effectively.
2. States and international organisations parties
to this Instrument shall take all appropriate measures to prevent,
reduce, and control any damage or significant risk arising from
activities under their jurisdiction or control which are likely
to produce debris.
States and international organisations parties to
this Instrument have, in addition to the duties set forth in Article
3, the following obligations:
(a) To cooperate in the prevention of damage to the
environment and make every effort to avoid situations that may
lead to disputes.
To cooperate, in accordance with their national
laws and practices, in promoting the development and exchange
of technology to prevent, reduce, and control space debris.
(b) To encourage and facilitate the flow and exchange
of information of a scientific, technical, economic, legal, and
commercial nature relevant to this instrument.
(c) To hold consultations when a State, group of States or international organisation parties to this instrument have reasons to believe that activities carried out under their jurisdiction or control, or planned to be carried out, produce space debris that is likely to cause damage to the environment, or to persons or objects, or significant risk thereto.
Any State or international organisation party to this Instrument may request
to hold consultations when it has reasons to believe
that the activity of another State or international organisation
party to this Instrument produces space debris that is likely
to cause damage to the environment.
Refusal to hold consultations, or the breaking up
of such without justification, shall be interpreted as bad faith.
(d) To negotiate in good faith which means, inter
alia, not only to hold consultations or talks but also to
pursue them with a view of reaching a solution.
(e) To give special attention, when promoting these
activities, to the needs of developing countries.
The rules laid down in this Instrument shall not
be considered incompatible with the provisions of other international
agreements concerning activities in outer space.
The rules laid down in this Instrument concerning responsibility and liability apply to damage caused by space debris in the space environment and, in the absence of other international agreements on the matter, to damage caused to the earth environment.
The State or international organisation, party to
this Instrument, that launches or procures the launching of a
space object shall bear international responsibility for assuring
that national activities are carried out in conformity with the
provisions of this Instrument, the 1967 Space Treaty, and the
1972 Liability Convention.
Each State or international organisation party to
this Instrument that launches or procures the launching of a space
object is internationally liable for damage arising therefrom
to another State, persons or objects, or international organisation
party to this Instrument as a consequence of space debris produced
by any such object.
1. Disputes concerning the interpretation or application
of this Instrument shall be subject to consultation at the request
of any of the parties to the dispute with a view to reaching a
prompt and amicable settlement.
2. Failing this, if the parties to the dispute have not agreed on a means of
peaceful settlement within twelve months of the request for consultation,
the dispute shall be referred, at the request of any party thereto, to
arbitration or adjudication. In such case, the ILA Draft Convention on the
Settlement of Space Law Disputes, which is appended as an Annex to this
Instrument, shall be applicable, unless a party to this Instrument has
excluded such application, in full or in part, by a declaration as provided in
paragraph 3 of this Article.
3. Each Party to this Instrument, when signing, ratifying,
accepting, approving or acceding thereto, or formally confirming
its acceptance, or at any time thereafter, may declare that it
chooses any of the nonbinding or binding settlement procedures
envisaged in the Annex to this Instrument, or that it excludes
in part or in full the application of the Annex.
4. In these procedures it shall be possible, whenever
appropriate, to prescribe interim measures binding on the parties
in order to preserve rights or to prevent serious damage to the
environment, or persons or objects. These measures shall be implemented
by the parties without delay.
1. This Instrument shall be open for signature by
all States and international organisations at the United Nations
Headquarters in New York. Any State or international organisation
which does not sign this Instrument before its entry into force
may accede to it at any time.
2. This Instrument shall be subject to ratification
or formal confirmation by signatory States and international
organisations. Instruments of ratification, instruments of accession
and of formal confirmation shall be deposited with the SecretaryGeneral
of the United Nations.
3. The SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations
shall promptly inform all signatory and acceding States and international
organisations of the date of each signature, the date of deposit
of each instrument of ratification and of accession and the date
of each formal confirmation of the present instrument, the date
of its entry into force, and other notices.
1. This Instrument shall enter into force among States
and international organisations which have deposited instruments
of ratification or formal confirmation thirty days after the deposit
of the fifth instrument with the secretary-general of the United
Nations.
2. For States and international organisations whose instruments of ratification or accession, or of formal confirmation, are deposited subsequent to the entry into force of this Instrument, it shall enter into force on the date of the deposit of their instruments of ratification, accession, or formal confirmation.
Any party to this instrument may propose amendments
to the Instrument. Amendments shall enter into force for each
party to the Instrument accepting the amendment upon their acceptance
by a majority of the parties to the Instrument and thereafter,
for each remaining party to the Instrument, on the date of acceptance
by it.
No reservations may be made to this Instrument except
as provided in Article 9.
Ten years after the entry into force of this Instrument
the question of the review of the Instrument shall be included
in the provisional agenda of the United Nations General Assembly
in order to consider, in the light of past application of the
Instrument, whether it requires revision. However, at any time
after the Instrument has been in force for five years, the SecretaryGeneral
of the United Nations, as depository, shall at the request of
one third of the parties to the Instrument and with the concurrence
of the majority of the parties, convene a conference of the parties
to review the Instrument.
Any party to the Instrument may give notice of its
withdrawal from the Instrument one year after its entry into
force by written notification to the SecretaryGeneral of
the United Nations. Such withdrawal will take effect one year
from the date of receipt of this notification.
The original of this Instrument, of which the Arabic,
Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanisch texts are equally
authentic, shall be deposited with the SecretaryGeneral
of the United Nations, who shall send certified copies thereof
to all signatory and acceding States and international organisations.
In witness thereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized
by their governments, have signed this Instrument, opened for
signature at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on ...
Note: The Annex on Dispute Settlement is appended in conformity with Article 9, 2.
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