ESA title
Benkoe
Agency

What is Space Law?

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ESA / About Us / ECSL - European Centre for Space Law

Dr. Marietta Benkö
Attorney-at-Law, Cologne, Germany
"Space Law means all legal norms which apply to the exploration and use of outer space. These are not just the five United Nations´ Treaties and Principles on Outer Space which are exclusively dealing with this subject Space Law Treaties but also other laws and regulations (whether international or national) which might have a much broader application but which are also vitally relevant for space activities like e.g. the ITU Constitution and Convention, the ITU Radio Regulations etc."

Prof. F. Lyall
Professor of Public Law, University of Aberdeen
"There are two ways to organise a legal topic. One is intellectual and systematic. For example, the law of contract is the elaboration of the complexities of a few basic concepts. The other is to see the topic as a label covering many matters. In this form one includes all the law that is relevant to a particular set of facts. Thus Family Law is all the law that relates to family relationships, and includes marriage, divorce, civil partnerships, adoption, inheritance, parental and children’s rights, social security, taxation etc. Space Law is of the second variety and deals with all the law that can be involved in matters of space, including public international, law both institutional and substantive, as well as relevant elements of private law such as contract and delict/tort. Policy considerations arise when alternative legal principles collide, or alternative solutions to particular problems are feasible."

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