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The Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, also known as the Space Liability Convention, is a
treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...
from 1972 that expands on the liability rules created in the
Outer Space Treaty The Outer Space Treaty, formally the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a Multilateralism, multilateral treaty that forms the bas ...
of 1967. In 1978, the crash of the
nuclear-power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
ed Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 in Canadian territory led to the only claim filed under the convention.


Status

The Liability Convention was concluded and opened for signature on 29 March 1972. It entered into force on 1 September 1972. As of 1 January 2021, 98 States have ratified the Liability Convention, 19 have signed but not ratified and four international
intergovernmental organizations An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own leg ...
(the
European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...
, the
European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is an intergovernmental organisation created through an international convention agreed by a current total of 30 European Member States. EUMETSAT's primary ...
, the Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, and the
European Telecommunications Satellite Organization The European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat IGO) is an intergovernmental organisation consisting of 49 member states. It is headquartered in Paris, France. The mission of Eutelsat IGO is to maintain the rights to use radio fr ...
) have declared their acceptance of the rights and obligations provided for in the Agreement.


Key provisions

States (countries) bear international responsibility for all space objects that are launched within their territory. This means that regardless of who launches the space object, if it was launched from State A's territory, or from State A's facility, or if State A caused the launch to happen, then State A is fully liable for damages that result from that space object.


Joint launches

If two states work together to launch a space object, then both of those states are
jointly and severally liable Where two or more persons are liable in respect of the same liability, in most common law legal systems they may either be: * severally liable, or * jointly liable, or * jointly and severally liable. Several liability In several or proportionat ...
for the damage that object causes. This means that the injured party can sue either of the two states for the full amount of damage.


Claims between states only

Claims under the Liability Convention must be brought by the state against a state. The convention was created to supplement existing and future national laws providing compensation to parties injured by space activities. Whereas under most national legal systems an individual or a corporation may bring a lawsuit against another individual or another corporation, under the Liability Convention claims must be brought on the state level only. This means that if an individual is injured by a space object and wishes to seek compensation under the Liability Convention, the individual must arrange for his or her country to make a claim against the country that launched the space object that caused the damage.


See also

* USA-193 * Kosmos 954 *
Skylab Skylab was the United States' first space station, launched by NASA, occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974. It was operated by three trios of astronaut crews: Skylab 2, Skylab 3, and Skylab 4. Skylab was constructe ...
*
Space law Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue efforts ...
*
Outer Space Treaty The Outer Space Treaty, formally the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, is a Multilateralism, multilateral treaty that forms the bas ...
*
Moon Treaty The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,Treaties of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Treaties of Canada Treaties of Chile Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties of Cuba Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of Czechoslovakia Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of Fiji Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Gabon Treaties of West Germany Treaties of East Germany Treaties of the Kingdom of Greece Treaties of the Hungarian People's Republic Treaties of India Treaties of Indonesia Treaties of Pahlavi Iran Treaties of Ba'athist Iraq Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Israel Treaties of Italy Treaties of Japan Treaties of Kazakhstan Treaties of Kuwait Treaties of the Kingdom of Laos Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Treaties of Mexico Treaties of the Mongolian People's Republic Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Morocco Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Niger Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Norway Treaties of Pakistan Treaties of Papua New Guinea Treaties of Peru Treaties of the Polish People's Republic Treaties of Qatar Treaties of South Korea Treaties of the Socialist Republic of Romania Treaties of the Soviet Union Treaties of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Singapore Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of South Africa Treaties of Francoist Spain Treaties of Sri Lanka Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Syria Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Turkey Treaties of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of the United States Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Yugoslavia Treaties of Zambia Treaties of Benin Treaties of the Dominican Republic Treaties of Liechtenstein Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of Mali Treaties of Malta Treaties of Panama Treaties of Saudi Arabia Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Togo Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago Treaties of the United Arab Emirates Treaties of Venezuela Treaties of Kenya Treaties extended to Greenland Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands Treaties extended to Aruba Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles Treaties extended to Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Treaties extended to British Antigua and Barbuda Treaties extended to Bermuda Treaties extended to the British Virgin Islands Treaties extended to Brunei (protectorate) Treaties extended to the Cayman Islands Treaties extended to British Dominica Treaties extended to the Falkland Islands Treaties extended to Gibraltar Treaties extended to British Grenada Treaties extended to British Hong Kong Treaties extended to Montserrat Treaties extended to the Pitcairn Islands Treaties extended to Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Treaties extended to British Saint Lucia Treaties extended to British Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Treaties extended to the British Solomon Islands Treaties extended to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Treaties extended to the Turks and Caicos Islands