[FPSPACE] Liability for Mir, Iridium and the OST?

[Joanne Gabrynowicz]

	RE: "In the case of Iridium my understanding is that while the US
Government would be responsible under UN treaty for the payment of
compensation, the Government could then go after Iridium for a refund of
those funds since they are a commercial company (the UN treaty was drawn
up,I think, in the days before commercial companies had that many
satellites - the vast majority were government owned).  I discussed this
with a few people in the space debris "trade" and also someone who had a
good feel for space law matters a few months ago."

	Art VI of the the OST holds signatories ultimately liable for all
public and provate space activities ("States Parties to the Treaty shall
bear international responsibility...whether such activities are careid on
by government or non-governmental entities...). 
	Insurance contracts and launch licenses set out the legal
relationship between the company and the signatory. They can require that
the company indemnify or agree to hold the signatory harmless in the event
of an accident. They can also apportion the liability between the
signatory and the company. ("the Government could then go after Iridium")
	Another possibility, depending on where the accident occurs (Earth
or space), the nationality of the injured party and the legal relationship
between the injured party and the responsible signatory, there is also the
possibility of joint and several liability. "Joint" means all parties are
liable and "several" each potential defendant is separately and
individually liable. Both coexist simultaneously. The plaintiff has the
choice of suing one or more of the potentially liable parties separately,
or all of them together. Say nations A and B are potential defendants. The
accident really was B's fault but the plaintiff chooses only to sue
defendant A because A has resources or the court system is more accesible
to the plaintiff. Then A can pursue defendant B for recovery of what it
paid to the plaintiff. 


Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz
Professor, Space Law & Policy
Remote Sensing Law & Policy     
Space Studies Department       	
University of North Dakota
gabrynow@aero.und.nodak.edu

On Sat, 21 Oct 2000, Phillip Clark wrote:

> On Sat, 21 Oct 2000, Dwayne Allen Day wrote:
> > I don't think there is any real precedent for this under the OST, is
> > there?  Most commercial spacecraft never face the possibility of falling
> > down (because they are in GEO).  But I guess that Iridium is the American
> > equivalent of this.  Iridium has decided to de-orbit its satellites even
> > though the US government would be responsible for any damages caused by
> > them.  But would the US government then have any domestic standing to sue
> > Iridium to reclaim its money?  Or by signing the OST, did the US
> > government essentially give away its right to sue companies for damages
> > that it has accepted liability for?
> 
> In the case of Iridium my understanding is that while the US Government
> would be responsible under UN treaty for the payment of compensation, the
> Government could then go after Iridium for a refund of those funds since
> they are a commercial company (the UN treaty was drawn up,I think, in the
> days before commercial companies had that many satellites - the vast
> majority were government owned).   I discussed this with a few people in
> the space debris "trade" and also someone who had a good feel for space
> law matters a few months ago.
> 
> Of course, if Iridium has ceased trading and/or has no assets then this
> would be a purely academic point.
> 
> Phillip Clark
> 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Phillip S Clark                                     22 Winterbourne Close
> Molniya Space Consultancy                           Hastings
> Compiler/Publisher, Worldwide Satellite Launches    E Sussex  TN34 1XG
>                                                     U.K.
> 
> Specialist in "space archeology" - the older and more obscure the more 
> interesting it is !
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
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