Professor Barry Kellman presented "The Relevance of General International Law for Debris Questions" at an event held by the European Space Policy Institute on April 11.
Event Background:
Space Nuisance—An International Tort
The international space community has devoted considerable attention to the ever worsening problem of space debris. In 2008 guidelines on debris mitigation were endorsed by the UN General Assembly as a soft law instrument. A pervasive view holds that avoidable debris creation is undesirable and runs counter to the interests of the global community, but that no hard law norms ban such debris creation. It is the validity of this assumption which was tested at the ESPI event through a number of presentations by eminent international lawyers. In addition the question of the position of law relative to the new ideas on active debris removal was addressed.
