Responsibility for Actions in the Void: A study on non-governmental activities in outer space, with a focus on the StarLink project
(2024) LAGF03 20242Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- The important rise of non-state actors performing commercial activities in outer space has resulted in legal issues regarding inter alia responsibility. The question is whether the current international legal framework on outer space is sufficiently established to cope with a continuously shifting legal area once dominated by States to one today driven by private economic interests.
This essay is based on a legal dogmatic method and aims to investigate the international responsibility of States for non-governmental activities in outer space, with a particular focus on the Starlink project. Focusing on Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty to which the U.S. is legally bound, this study explores whether States can be held accountable for... (More) - The important rise of non-state actors performing commercial activities in outer space has resulted in legal issues regarding inter alia responsibility. The question is whether the current international legal framework on outer space is sufficiently established to cope with a continuously shifting legal area once dominated by States to one today driven by private economic interests.
This essay is based on a legal dogmatic method and aims to investigate the international responsibility of States for non-governmental activities in outer space, with a particular focus on the Starlink project. Focusing on Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty to which the U.S. is legally bound, this study explores whether States can be held accountable for the actions of private space entities under international space law. The purpose of this research is to highlight challenges posed by the increasing private sector involvement in space.
This study shows that States retain responsibility for activities by non-governmental entities when these activities can be considered national. Using the case of Starlink, this study claims that the United States, as the registering State of SpaceX’s satellites, holds jurisdiction and control over the satellites according to international space law. The U.S. has thereby established a legal basis of accountability for potential harm caused by the Starlink satellites, such as space debris. States can consequently be held accountable for non-governmental space activities under Article VI (sentences one and three) of the OST, with Starlink serving as a relevant example.
The study concludes that while Article VI sentences one and three of the OST offer a foundational framework, it requires a dynamic interpretation to address current issues. However, the lack of precision in Article VI risks leading to inconsistent applications and undermining legal predictability. To ensure governance of outer space activities, further legal clarifications to the international space regime are needed, particularly regarding the regulation of private space actors. The findings emphasize the need to adapt international space law to modern developments in the field. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Den nuvarande ökningen av icke-statliga aktörer som bedriver kommersiell verksamhet i rymden har lett till juridiska frågor om bland annat ansvar. Är det nuvarande internationella rättsliga ramverket för yttre rymden tillräckligt etablerat för att hantera övergången från ett rättsområde som en gång dominerades av stater, till ett område som idag drivs av privata ekonomiska intressen?
I denna uppsats undersöks staters internationella ansvar för icke-statliga aktiviteter i yttre rymden, med särskilt fokus på StarLink projektet. Genom artikel VI (mening ett och tre) i Rymdfördraget som USA har ratificerat, undersöks om stater kan hållas ansvariga för privata aktörers rymdverksamhet i enlighet med internationell rymdlagstiftning. Syftet är... (More) - Den nuvarande ökningen av icke-statliga aktörer som bedriver kommersiell verksamhet i rymden har lett till juridiska frågor om bland annat ansvar. Är det nuvarande internationella rättsliga ramverket för yttre rymden tillräckligt etablerat för att hantera övergången från ett rättsområde som en gång dominerades av stater, till ett område som idag drivs av privata ekonomiska intressen?
I denna uppsats undersöks staters internationella ansvar för icke-statliga aktiviteter i yttre rymden, med särskilt fokus på StarLink projektet. Genom artikel VI (mening ett och tre) i Rymdfördraget som USA har ratificerat, undersöks om stater kan hållas ansvariga för privata aktörers rymdverksamhet i enlighet med internationell rymdlagstiftning. Syftet är att belysa de utmaningar som den privata sektorns engagemang i rymden medför.
Uppsatsen visar på att stater bör hållas ansvariga för aktiviteter som utförs av icke-statliga aktörer när aktiviteterna kan anses vara nationella. Genom StarLink projektet hävdar denna uppsats att USA, i egenskap av registrerande stat för StarLinks satelliter, har jurisdiktion och kontroll över satelliterna enligt internationell rymdlagstiftning. USA har därmed etablerat en rättslig grund för ansvar för potentiella skador av StarLinks satelliter, såsom rymdskrot. Stater kan följaktligen hållas ansvariga för icke-statlig rymdverksamhet enligt artikel VI (meningarna ett och tre) i Rymdfördraget, med StarLink projektet som praktiskt exempel.
Uppsatsen drar slutsatsen att även om artikel VI första och tredje meningen i Rymdfördraget utgör en grundläggande rättslig ram, krävs en dynamisk tolkning för att kunna hantera aktuella frågor om ansvar i rymden. Bristen på pre-cision i Artikel VI riskerar att leda till inkonsekventa tillämpningar samt brister i lagens förutsägbarhet. För att säkerställa ansvar för aktiviteter i yttre rymden krävs ytterligare juridiska förtydliganden inom den internationella rymdrätten, särskilt gällande regleringen av privata rymdaktörer. Uppsatsen understryker behovet av att anpassa den internationella rymdlagstiftningen till den moderna utvecklingen i rymden. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9179767
- author
- Henriksson, Hedda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20242
- year
- 2024
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Folkrätt (en. public international law), international responsibility, outer space
- language
- English
- id
- 9179767
- date added to LUP
- 2025-03-20 14:00:58
- date last changed
- 2025-03-20 14:00:58
@misc{9179767,
abstract = {{The important rise of non-state actors performing commercial activities in outer space has resulted in legal issues regarding inter alia responsibility. The question is whether the current international legal framework on outer space is sufficiently established to cope with a continuously shifting legal area once dominated by States to one today driven by private economic interests.
This essay is based on a legal dogmatic method and aims to investigate the international responsibility of States for non-governmental activities in outer space, with a particular focus on the Starlink project. Focusing on Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty to which the U.S. is legally bound, this study explores whether States can be held accountable for the actions of private space entities under international space law. The purpose of this research is to highlight challenges posed by the increasing private sector involvement in space.
This study shows that States retain responsibility for activities by non-governmental entities when these activities can be considered national. Using the case of Starlink, this study claims that the United States, as the registering State of SpaceX’s satellites, holds jurisdiction and control over the satellites according to international space law. The U.S. has thereby established a legal basis of accountability for potential harm caused by the Starlink satellites, such as space debris. States can consequently be held accountable for non-governmental space activities under Article VI (sentences one and three) of the OST, with Starlink serving as a relevant example.
The study concludes that while Article VI sentences one and three of the OST offer a foundational framework, it requires a dynamic interpretation to address current issues. However, the lack of precision in Article VI risks leading to inconsistent applications and undermining legal predictability. To ensure governance of outer space activities, further legal clarifications to the international space regime are needed, particularly regarding the regulation of private space actors. The findings emphasize the need to adapt international space law to modern developments in the field.}},
author = {{Henriksson, Hedda}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Responsibility for Actions in the Void: A study on non-governmental activities in outer space, with a focus on the StarLink project}},
year = {{2024}},
}