Space activities: towards a Monegasque legal framework

Accession to the outer space treaties and proposed national legislation

A delegation from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) was received in the Principality from 4 to 6 September 2024, for a technical advisory mission as part of the ‘Space Law for New Space Actors Project’, "a precursor to Monaco’s accession to the major international outer space treaties", and "to adopt national legislation to regulate private space activities carried out in the Principality and ensure the legal security of the State in line with applicable international legislation." (Press Release of the Government, 9 September 2024, "The Office for Outer Space Affairs visits the Principality")

Among the subjects discussed (consult the Programme of the Technical Advisory Mission to Monaco published on the UNOOSA Website):

• National space activities in Monaco;
• Global governance of space activities and the role of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS);
• Fundamental principles of space law;
• National space legislation: objective, scope and its seven key elements;
• State responsibility - Trends, advantages and necessary steps;
• Registration and transfer of ownership - New York Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space of 12 November 1974 - Establishment of a national register;
• Authorisation, licensing and monitoring - Administrative approach;
• Insurance of space activities - National implementation, licensing approaches and requirements;
• Legal regime for earth observation and the use of space data;
• Satellite data security;
• Safety of space activities - Space debris mitigation and disposal;
• Regulation of activities related to space resources;
• Sustainable space activities as a component of national space legislative frameworks;
• Regulatory aspects of space activities from the perspective of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU);
• Regulation of small satellite activities.

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TO FIND OUT MORE

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

Established by the General Assembly (Resolution 1348 (XIII) of 13 December 1958), the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is the UN body responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space:

• The ‘Space law for new space actors’ project, in which a UNOOSA delegation took part in Monaco, helps UN member states, on request, to develop/revise their national space law and/or policy to bring it into line with the international normative frameworks applicable to space activities, which is particularly important at a time when more and more actors are entering the space arena.
• UNOOSA implements the United Nations Programme on Space Applications and works to promote the use of space science and technology for economic and social development. Within the framework of this Programme, the Office organises training courses, workshops, seminars and other activities in areas such as remote sensing, communications, satellite meteorology, search and rescue, basic space science and satellite navigation.
• In the field of disaster risk reduction, the UN-SPIDER programme helps countries to use space data and technologies, such as satellite imagery, to prevent and manage disasters.
• It supports transparency in space activities through measures such as the Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space, which links each object to its responsible country and keeps it up to date.

Monaco provides information (registration, loss of communication) on objects launched into orbit or beyond (OSM 1 Cicero, function: collection of climatic data for environmental applications) in accordance with General Assembly Resolution 1721 B (XVI) of 20 December 1961 - International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. See the online index of objects launched into outer space

Source : https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/in...

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