3 Review(s)

The entry into the outer space is undoubtedly the greatest achievement of the twentieth century. The pleasant event of space exploration has resulted in the rapid developments in scientific and technological field. But at the same time it carried number of problems requiring legal solutions. Consequently, the space law started to emerge as a separate branch of international law. During 1960s and 70s, five major treaties were entered in the field of outer space under the auspices of the United Nations. While the existing international space law is the outcome of the deliberations of 1960s and 70s, the technological developments in space have moved a distant far from legal developments. With the entry of private players into the realm of space activities, the gap has widened. Hence, we find the existing international space treaty regime is inadequate to deal with manifold nuances of space activities. This brings forward the question; what steps need to be taken to deal with the emerging trends in space activities? For this, first we have to study the nature of different emerging activities in outer space, which include space tourism, space transportation, space research, exploitation of space resources, and human habitation in outer space. Then the inadequacy of current legal regime to regulate these activities needs to be explored to suggest a working model for regulating and channelizing space activities. Hence, an attempt is made through this book in this direction. The contributors have explored the possibilities of legal regulation of emerging trends in space activities through concerted efforts at both international and national levels.