The Outer Space Treaty was negotiated during the Cold War at a time when space suddenly became a strategic war frontier.
The treaty states that space is the province of all humankind and no one country can claim sovereignty over it, or any celestial body. It requires the peaceful usage of space – no weapons of mass destruction. The treaty outlines provisions for nations to help save astronauts should they be in distress in space.
The treaty, now signed by over 100 signatories, is the backbone of current space law and polity.
However, after some six decades, some say it’s time for an update. Ely Sandler, a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, doesn’t believe the treaty doesn’t keep up with the times.
In his new paper “Governing Outer Space, a Conference of the Parties for the Outer Space Treaty,” Sandler argues that we need to add to the treaty, so governments and private companies have a clear understanding of the rules.
“It basically says, for example, the Outer Space Treaty compels countries to give due regard, due regard to each other in space,” Sandler said. “There's no definition of that, and so actually, I can just say I'm giving due regard, and no one really knows because there's no legislature, there's no guidance.”
The paper argues that a solution to vague terms is a Conference of Parties or COP. Borrowed from other international organizations, terms that are unanimously agreed to during the conference would guide future space protocol.
Sandler said he believes these COPs could help understand and implement the laws without changing the treaty.
“If all the signatories would have come together, and they were to deliberate, and they were to agree between themselves, without passing a new treaty, that they think due regard means having an orbital deorbit plan, or due regard means a certain protocol for communication with other satellites, that would then become the definition of due regard under the Outer Space Treaty,” Sandler said.
This comes at a pivotal time in the space tech industry. The rise of the commercial space sector at this scale wasn’t expected at the original ratification of the Outer Space Treaty. These COPs could give the industry the regulation it both wants and needs.
“There is a huge push from the satellite industry towards more regulation. At the moment, that is domestic regulation, because they want to be able to have a say and make sure that the regulation supports the U.S. satellite industry,” Sandler said. “This model we're proposing, and I'm sure others will build on it, where the United States would be basically an actor with it, with a veto, debating in something like a Conference of the Parties how international regulation should work, that really does closely align with what a lot of U.S. satellite industry is asking for.”
