DRAFT TREATY GOVERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF STATES ON THE CELESTIAL BODIES OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
(Solar System Treaty)
(Solar System Treaty)
OPSA-2014-02
2014
The States Parties to this Treaty,
Noting the achievements of states in the exploration and use of the celestial bodies of the Solar System,
Recognizing that the celestial bodies of the Solar System have an important role to play in the exploration of outer space,
Determined to promote on the basis of equality the further development of co-operation among states in the exploration and use of the celestial bodies of the Solar System,
Desiring to prevent the celestial bodies of the Solar System from becoming regions of international conflict,
Bearing in mind the benefits which may be derived from the exploitation of the natural resources of the celestial bodies of the Solar System,
Recalling the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space, the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, and the Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space,
Taking into account the need to define and develop the provisions of these international instruments in relation to the celestial bodies of the Solar System, having regard to further progress in the exploration and use of outer space,
Have agreed on the following:
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Treaty, the Protocol on Property Rights to the Treaty Governing the Activities of States on the Celestial Bodies of the Solar System, hereinafter the Property Rights Protocol, an integral part of this Treaty, and the Protocol on Dispute Settlement to the Treaty Governing the Activities of States on the Celestial Bodies of the Solar System, an integral part of this Treaty:
1. “Celestial body” includes, with the exception of Earth, any natural body in orbit around the Sun, or recursively, any natural body in orbit around such a natural body, and includes any natural body in orbit around Earth;
2. “Gravitationally significant body” includes, with the exception of Earth, any celestial body possessing an escape velocity greater than 5 meters per second;
3. “Gravitationally insignificant body” includes any celestial body possessing an escape velocity less than 5 meters per second;
4. “Interplanetary space” includes all regions in which it is possible for a celestial body to complete at least one revolution of the Sun without propulsion;
5. “Solar System” includes the Sun, its celestial bodies with the exception of Earth, and interplanetary space;
6. “Space facility” means an artificial structure or a device used located on a celestial body;
7. “Spacecraft” or “space vehicle” means a device which is designed to transport people or material, including scientific instruments:
(a) from Earth or from celestial bodies to interplanetary space;
(b) through interplanetary space;
(c) from one point to another on the surface of a celestial body; or
(d) from interplanetary space to the surface of Earth or of a celestial body.
8. “Space object” means any space facility, spacecraft or space vehicle.
ARTICLE 2
SCOPE OF THE PRESENT TREATY
1. The provisions of this Treaty shall apply to celestial bodies except in so far as specific legal norms enter into force with respect to any of these celestial bodies.
2. For the purposes of this Treaty reference to celestial bodies shall include orbits around or other trajectories to or around them, including Lagrangian points, but shall not include trajectories and orbits of space objects in Earth orbits only and trajectories of space objects between the Earth and such orbits.
3. This Treaty does not apply to extraterrestrial materials which reach the surface of Earth by natural means.
ARTICLE 3
APPLICABILITY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
All activities on celestial bodies, including their exploration and use, shall be carried out in accordance with international law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations, taking into account the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, adopted by the General Assembly on 24 October 1970, and taking into account the Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of all States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries, adopted by the General Assembly on 13 December 1996, in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation and mutual understanding, and with due regard to the corresponding interests of all other States Parties.
ARTICLE 4
APPROPRIATION
1. The Solar System is not subject to national appropriation by any claim of sovereignty, nor to private appropriation in the absence of occupation and use.
2. Neither the surface nor the subsurface of a gravitationally significant body, nor any part thereof or natural resources in place, shall become property of any State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity or of any natural person, except in accordance with the provisions of the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty.
3. The surface and the subsurface of a gravitationally insignificant body, and any part thereof, may become property of a State, international intergovernmental or non-governmental organization, national organization or non-governmental entity or of a natural person, in accordance with the provisions of the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty. Any international interests in such property shall be considered a “space asset” for the purposes of the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters Specific to Space Assets and shall be subject to the provisions thereof.
4. States Parties have the right to exploration and use of celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty, without discrimination of any kind, on the basis of equality and in accordance with international law and the provisions of this Treaty.
ARTICLE 5
PEACEFUL PURPOSES
1. Celestial bodies shall be used by all States Parties exclusively for peaceful purposes.
2. Any threat or use of force or any other hostile act or threat of hostile act on celestial bodies is prohibited. It is likewise prohibited to use celestial bodies in order to commit any such act or to engage in any such threat in relation to Earth, celestial bodies, spacecraft, the personnel of spacecraft or man-made space objects.
3. States Parties shall not place in orbit around or other trajectory to or around celestial bodies objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction or place or use such weapons on or in celestial bodies.
4. The establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and the conduct of military manoeuvres on celestial bodies shall be forbidden. The use of military personnel for scientific research or for any other peaceful purposes shall not be prohibited. The use of any equipment or facility necessary for peaceful exploration and use of celestial bodies shall also not be prohibited.
ARTICLE 6
ASSISTANCE AND RESCUE
1. States Parties shall adopt all practicable measures to safeguard the life and health of persons on celestial bodies. For this purpose they shall regard any person on celestial bodies as an astronaut within the meaning of Article 5 of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States on the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies and as part of the personnel of a spacecraft within the meaning of the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
2. States Parties shall offer shelter in their stations, installations, vehicles and other facilities to persons in distress on celestial bodies.
3. Vehicles, installations and equipment or their component parts found in places other than their intended location shall be dealt with in accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space.
4. In the event of an emergency involving a threat to human life, States Parties may use the equipment, vehicles, installations, facilities or supplies of other States Parties on celestial bodies. Prompt notification of such use shall be made to the Secretary-General of the United Nations or the State Party concerned.
5. A State Party which learns of the crash landing, forced landing or other unintended landing on a celestial body of a space object, or its component parts, that were not launched by it, shall promptly inform the launching State Party and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 7
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
States Parties to this Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities on celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried out by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions of this Treaty. States Parties shall ensure that non-governmental entities under their jurisdiction shall engage in activities on celestial bodies only under the authority and continuing supervision of the appropriate State Party.
ARTICLE 8
JURISDICTION
States Parties shall retain jurisdiction and control over their personnel, space vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and installations on celestial bodies. The ownership of space vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and installations shall not be affected by their presence on celestial bodies.
ARTICLE 9
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
1. The exploration and use of celestial bodies, including commercial exploitation and use, shall be the province of all humankind and shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all interest of all States, irrespective of their degree of economic, social or scientific and technological development. Particular account should be taken of the needs of developing countries, in accordance with the Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of all States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries. Due regard shall be paid to interests of present and future generations as well as to the need to promote higher standards of living conditions of economic and social progress and development in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
2. States Parties shall be guided by the principle of cooperation and mutual assistance in all their activities concerning the exploration and use of celestial bodies. International cooperation in pursuance of this Treaty should be as wide as possible and may take place on a multilateral basis, on a bilateral basis or through international intergovernmental organizations.
ARTICLE 10
REPORTING AND NOTIFICATION
1. States Parties shall inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of their activities concerned with the exploration and use of celestial bodies. Information on the time, purposes, locations, orbital parameters and duration shall be given in respect of each mission to celestial bodies as soon as possible after launching, while information on the results of each mission, including scientific results, shall be furnished upon completion of the mission. In the case of a mission lasting more than sixty days, information on conduct of the mission including any scientific results, shall be given periodically, at thirty-day intervals. For missions lasting more than six months, only significant additions to such information need be reported thereafter.
2. If a State Party becomes aware that another State Party plans to operate simultaneously in the same area of or in the same orbit around or trajectory to or around a celestial body, it shall promptly inform the other State of the timing of and plans for its own operations.
3. In carrying out activities under this Treaty, States Parties shall promptly inform the Secretary-General, as well as the public and the international scientific community, of any phenomena they discover in interplanetary space, including celestial bodies, which could endanger human life or health, as well as of any indication of organic life.
ARTICLE 11
SCIENTIFIC AND COMMERCIAL INVESTIGATIONS
1. There shall be freedom of scientific and commercial investigation on celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty by all States Parties without discrimination of any kind, on the basis of equality and in accordance with international law.
2. In carrying out scientific or commercial investigations and in furtherance of the provisions of this Treaty, the States Parties shall have the right to collect on and remove from celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty samples of their mineral and other substances. Such samples shall remain at the disposal of those States Parties which caused them to be collected and may be used by them for scientific or commercial purposes. States Parties shall have regard to the desirability of making a portion of such samples available to other interested States Parties and the international scientific community for scientific investigation. States Parties may in the course of scientific or commercial investigations also use mineral and other substances of celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty in quantities appropriate for the support of their missions.
3. States Parties agree on the desirability of exchanging scientific and other personnel on expeditions to or installations on celestial bodies to the greatest extent feasible and practicable.
4. No provision in this Treaty shall in any way diminish or alter the existing right of a State Party to determine unilaterally how it shares the benefits derived from development and use by or under the authority of the State Party of natural resources of celestial bodies.
ARTICLE 12
PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
1. In exploring and using celestial bodies, States Parties shall take measures to prevent the disruption of the existing balance of its environment, whether by introducing adverse changes in that environment, by its harmful contamination through the introduction of extra-environmental matter or otherwise. No exploitation or use of celestial bodies should cause serious harm to the interests of other States Parties including their economic interests, no substantial risk should affect future exploitation and use, and celestial bodies’ environments should not be put substantially at risk. States Parties shall also take measures to avoid harmfully affecting the environment of Earth through the introduction of extraterrestrial matter or otherwise.
2. States Parties shall inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the measures being adopted by them in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article and shall also, to the maximum extent feasible, notify him in advance of all placements by them of radioactive materials on celestial bodies and of the purposes of such placements.
3. States Parties shall report to other States Parties and to the Secretary-General concerning areas of celestial bodies having special scientific interest in order that, without prejudice to the rights of other States Parties, consideration may be given to the designation of such areas as international scientific preserves for which special protective arrangements are to be agreed upon in consultation with the competent bodies of the United Nations.
4. States Parties may identify and recommend to other States Parties and to the Secretary-General the delineation of areas of celestial bodies containing works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view, in order that, without prejudice to the rights of other States Parties, consideration may be given to the designation of such areas as international cultural heritage preserves for which special protective arrangements are to be agreed upon in consultation with the competent bodies of the United Nations.
5. No provision of this Treaty shall prohibit the exploitation of natural resources which may be found on celestial bodies.
ARTICLE 13
ACTIVITIES
1. States Parties may pursue their activities in the exploration and use of celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty anywhere on or below their surfaces, subject to the provisions of this Treaty.
2. For these purposes States Parties may, in particular:
(a) Land their space objects on celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty and launch them from celestial bodies not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty;
(b) Place their personnel, space vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and installations anywhere on or below the surfaces of celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty.
Personnel, space vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and installations may move or be moved freely over or below the surfaces of celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty.
3. Activities of States Parties in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not interfere with the activities of other States Parties on celestial bodies. Where such interference may occur, the States Parties concerned shall undertake consultations in accordance with the Dispute Settlement Protocol to this Treaty.
ARTICLE 14
STATIONS
1. States Parties may establish manned and unmanned stations on celestial bodies which are not registered as personal property pursuant to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty. A State Party establishing a station on a gravitationally significant body shall use only that area which is required for the needs of the station, in accordance with the provisions of the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty, and shall immediately inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the location and purposes of that station. Subsequently, at annual intervals that State shall likewise inform the Secretary-General whether the station continues in use and whether its purposes have changed.
2. Stations shall be installed in such a manner that they do not impede the free access to all areas of gravitationally significant bodies of personnel, vehicles and equipment of other States Parties conducting activities on gravitationally significant bodies in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty, or of the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty, or of Article 1 of the Treaty of Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies.
ARTICLE 15
ACCESSIBILITY OF SPACE VEHICLES AND STATIONS
Each State Party may assure itself that the activities of other States Parties in the exploration and use of celestial bodies are compatible with the provisions of this Treaty. To this end, all space vehicles, equipment, facilities, stations and installations on celestial bodies shall be open to other States Parties. Such States Parties shall give reasonable advance notice of a projected visit, in order that appropriate consultations may be held and that maximum precautions may be taken to assure safety and to avoid interference with normal operations in the facility to be visited. In pursuance of this Article, any State Party may act on its own behalf or with the full or partial assistance of any other State Party or through appropriate international procedures within the framework of the United Nations and in accordance with the Charter.
ARTICLE 16
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Any dispute between two or more States Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Treaty shall be subject to the provisions relating to the settlement of disputes set out in the Dispute Settlement Protocol of this Treaty.
ARTICLE 17
INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
With the exception of Articles 18 to 21, references in this Treaty to States shall be deemed to apply to any international intergovernmental organization which conducts space activities if the organization declares its acceptance of the rights and obligations provided for in this Treaty and if a majority of the States members of the organization are States Parties to this Treaty and to the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. States members of any such organization which are States Parties to this Treaty shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that the organization makes a declaration in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE 18
RATIFICATION AND ENTRY INTO FORCE
1. This Treaty shall be open for signature by all States at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
2. This Treaty shall be subject to ratification by signatory States. Any State which does not sign this Treaty before its entry into force in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article may accede to it at any time. Instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. This Treaty shall enter into force upon the deposit of instruments of ratification by a majority of States which have registered with the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs the launch of spacecraft into orbit around Earth, including all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
4. Each State Party to this Treaty undertakes, immediately upon the entry into force of this Treaty, to give notice of denunciation of the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies if it is a party. As between States Parties, this Treaty supersedes the Agreement previously referred to.
5. For each State depositing its instrument of ratification or accession after the entry into force of this Treaty, it shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of deposit of any such instrument.
6. The Secretary-General shall promptly inform all signatory and acceding States of the date of each signature, the date of deposit of each instrument of ratification or accession to this Treaty, the date of its entry into force and other notices.
ARTICLE 19
RESERVATIONS AND DECLARATIONS
2. Paragraph 1 of this Article does not preclude a State, when signing, ratifying or acceding to this Treaty, from making declarations or statements, however phrased or named, with a view, inter alia, to the harmonization of its laws and regulations with the provisions of this Treaty, provided that such declarations or statements do not purport to exclude or to modify the legal effect of the provisions of this Treaty in their application to that State.
ARTICLE 20
AMENDMENTS
Any State Party to this Treaty may propose amendments to the Treaty, to the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty, and to the Dispute Settlement Protocol to this Treaty. Without prejudice to the specific amendment procedure prescribed for the Statute of the International Tribunal for the Solar System, amendments shall enter into force for each State Party to the Treaty accepting the amendments upon their acceptance by a majority of the States Parties to the Treaty and thereafter for each remaining State Party to the Treaty on the date of acceptance by it.
ARTICLE 21
WITHDRAWAL
Any State Party to this Treaty may give notice of its withdrawal from the Treaty one year after its entry into force by written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Such withdrawal shall take effect one year from the date of receipt of this notification.
ARTICLE 22
AUTHORITATIVE TEXTS
The original of this Treaty, the Property Rights Protocol to this Treaty, and the Dispute Settlement Protocol to this Treaty, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall send certified copies thereof to all signatory and acceding States.
No comments:
Post a Comment