International Center for Space Law

The new economic conditions in which the scientific institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine found themselves in the 1990s tested the viability of academic institutions, as well as of sectoral science. A certain part of scientific institutions that failed to adapt to the new economic conditions experienced considerable discomfort due to insufficient funding for science, imbalances in the relevant field, and the lack of social order for the results of scientific research, especially in fundamental areas of scientific research. Other scientific institutions, not expecting a «budgetary eldorado», tried to look for new forms of application of their scientific potential. V.M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was among the institutions of the second type.

The new economic conditions in which the scientific institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine found themselves in the 90s of the last century

One of the forms of management in the new economic conditions, namely the creation of so-called centers on the basis of the Institute, was suggested by life itself, which required bringing academic science closer to the needs of public practice, giving impetus to the development of direct contacts between scientific institutions and structures interested in the results of their research, while diversifying sources of funding for science.

Research centers began to be created in the structure of the Institute alongside traditional departments. While the departments were organized by branches of law, the centers were formed by areas of activity requiring inter-branch regulation. It was with this approach that the academic knowledge of the Institute's employees and their skills to master problems in a broad and diverse way were in the greatest demand.

The first such center was the International Center for Space Law (ICSL), established in June 1998. Initially, the ICSL functioned as a structural unit of the Institute, and in April 2001 it acquired the status of an independent legal entity.

The need to create the Center was mutual for both science and practice, and for practice it was perhaps even more urgent than for science. This was primarily due to the fact that after the collapse of the USSR, a real opportunity to carry out space activities on a new basis appeared. Ukraine, as an independent subject of international law, was interested in developing joint space projects and programs with other states and interstate associations. However, such cooperation was impossible without a proper legal basis. And Ukraine traditionally had neither its own space legislation (during the Soviet era, both space activities and space legislation were structured at the all-Union level, with the Soviet republics playing the role of «cogs in the wheel» managed from a single center) nor international bilateral and multilateral agreements on cooperation in the space sector. Soviet space technology and virtually the entire space infrastructure of the former Soviet Union were produced by Ukrainian enterprises. After the subjects of the respective activities came under the jurisdiction of different states, many legal issues arose, including bilateral Ukrainian-Russian relations, in particular, the distribution of former Soviet intellectual property for space objects. In addition, the commercialization trends that have rapidly swept the space sector have led to the emergence of a large number of non-state actors in the space arena, which have begun to play the role of independent actors in numerous space projects and programs, including international ones. Ensuring state control over their activities, preventing spontaneity in the development of the relevant process, protecting state interests in the context of the state's international responsibility for the consequences of space activities of entities under its jurisdiction is another factor that guided the state space agency, turning its attention to science and creating the ICSL.

Kyiv was chosen as the location of the Center. Ukraine had neither traditions nor trained personnel in space law. However, the decisive role in choosing the location of the Center was played by the authority of the V.M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law, its sensitivity to the perception of the new, its ability to ensure the fulfillment of the most complex tasks, and the reputation of the Institute as a well-known academic institution with great scientific potential. Yurii Shemshuchenko was appointed Director of the ICCP. It is interesting that the staff of the Center at first consisted of specialists in environmental law: N. R. Malysheva, S. V. Kuznetsova and N. D. Krasilich.

The main goals of the creation and activity of the ICPC were recognized as:

• promotion of the development of the scientific school of space law of Ukraine;
• solving fundamental and applied tasks of the development and implementation of national space law of Ukraine to increase the economic efficiency of space activities;
• harmonization of space legislation of Ukraine with international space law;
• strengthening cooperation with international organizations engaged in scientific research and practical application of space law;
• international legal support for the implementation of commercial space projects;
  legal support for the Cooperation Program between Ukraine and other states of the world in the field of research and use of outer space for peaceful purposes;
• popularization of space law.
  By the nature of its activities, the ICSL is a scientific and consulting organization.
  The work of the ICPC is based on the sectoral principle. In accordance with the needs of state legal practice and scientific interests of the development of the Center, five sectors were allocated within its structure: scientific work (responsible for N. R. Malysheva); normative activity (responsible for N. D. Krasilich), scientific and legal expertise (responsible S. V. Kuznetsova), publishing activities (responsible I. P. Andrushko), information and analytical work (responsible V. P. Semenyaka), international cooperation (responsible O. S. Stelmakh).The sectoral principle does not mean a clear specialization of the Center's employees, directing their activities only in a single sectoral direction. The limited staffing, of course, does not provide such an opportunity. At the same time, this principle makes it possible to individualize responsibility, distributing it among employees, giving greater independence in organizing work to sector managers.

Over the years of its operation, the ICSL has created considerable scientific and scientific-practical achievements, which should be analyzed in more detail, focusing on the activities of individual sectors.

As a result, during the period of the Center's existence, five candidate dissertations were prepared and defended on its basis. Several more candidate dissertations and one doctoral dissertation are in the preparation stage.

Over the years of its operation, the ICSL has conducted several analytical studies and prepared a number of scientific conclusions and recommendations on the harmonization of the national legal systems of Ukraine and other states, on the protection of intellectual property rights in the space industry, organizational and legal aspects of insurance in space activities, on environmental protection issues in the process of implementing space projects and programs, on issues of stimulating investment and innovation activities in the space sector, etc.

Consulting scientific and legal support for the implementation of the State (National) Space Programs of Ukraine was constantly provided.

Legislative work from the first days has been and remains one of the priority areas of the ICSL work. It consists of direct participation in the development of draft regulatory legal acts in the field of space activities, as well as in the examination of regulatory legal documents prepared by other teams.

During the five years of the ICSL activity, its specialists were most actively involved in the development of acts, united by a group of so-called rules of space activity, the preparation and adoption of which are provided for by the Law of Ukraine «On Space Activity».

The ICSL actively participated in the preparation of other regulatory legal acts, where other organizations acted as the main developers. In particular, expert assessments were conducted and conclusions were provided on the drafts of the following regulatory legal documents:

Regulations on the procedure for the development, manufacture and operation of rocket and space technology.
Regulations on the organization, implementation and support of space launches and flights.
Regulations on supervision and control over the safety of space launches and flights and the operation of space technology.
Regulations on the procedure for the transportation, protection and storage of rocket and space technology.
Regulations on conducting official investigations of incidents and emergencies with launch vehicles and spacecraft.
Regulations on conducting search and rescue operations in the space industry.
«Operation of spacecraft».
«Conducting scientific and scientific-technical expertise of projects, scientific-research and development works. General provisions and requirements».
«Utilization of space technology. General requirements».
«Limiting the pollution of near-Earth space during the operation of space technology. General requirements».
«Development, production and operation of rocket and space technology.
«Organization, execution and support of space launches and flights».
«Supervision and control over the safety of space launches and flights and the operation of space technology».
«Conducting search and rescue operations in the space industry».
«Conducting an official investigation of incidents and emergencies with launch vehicles and spacecraft.
«Transportation and storage of rocket and space equipment.
Given the significant legislative experience of the ICSL, its authority as a specialized scientific institution that has been engaged in space law for over 20 years, it was the Center that was tasked with developing first the concept, and then the draft of a new edition of the Law of Ukraine «On Space Activities».

Scientific and expert work is one of the most responsible areas of the ICSL work, which from the first days of the Center's operation has become a measure of the qualifications of its employees, their ability to combine academic knowledge with specific requests from social practice, not in words, but in practice. And such requests mostly came from the National Space Agency of Ukraine, and later - from space industry enterprises.

During the period of the existence of the ICSL, a scientific and legal assessment of various situations that arose within the framework of the implementation of international space projects was carried out «Globalstar», «Cyclone», «Sea Launch», «Vega», «Lybid», «Dnipro», «Land Launch» and some others — more than 60 examinations in total.

In addition to assessing situations that have arisen during space activities, the ICPC receives materials related to the conclusion of foreign economic agreements (contracts) by entities involved in space activities in Ukraine for consideration. If the relevant services of the State Civil Service Commission, which are engaged in such registration, have doubts about the legal content of the contract, it is submitted for examination to the ICSL.

Of course, it would be much better if space activity entities, even before entering into contractual relations, engaged legal consultants to provide legal assistance, in particular, related to the formalization of contractual relations, and the ISLC as the only specialized center for space law could be useful at this stage. However, until now, legal nihilism and underestimation of the importance of the preliminary pre-project work are still observed in relevant circles.

It should be noted that scientific and legal expertise has become the most favorite area of ​​activity of its employees, who, regardless of time and labor costs, mobilize maximum efforts to ensure that each expert opinion is prepared at a high professional level.

The publishing sector of the ICSL is also working fruitfully. Over the years of its existence, the ICSL has published five issues of the collection «Space Law of Ukraine» (in Ukrainian), which includes both international legal documents (multilateral and bilateral) and acts of national legislation of Ukraine on issues of space activities. These collections have become desk books for space industry enterprises, scientists involved in space law, and government agencies in the relevant field.

Since 2000, the ICSL has begun another important project — the publication of a multi-volume annotated Thematic Collection «Space Legislation of the Countries of the World», published in Ukrainian and English (editors in chief — N. R. Malysheva, Yu. S. Shemshuchenko).

A total of seven volumes are planned to be published. Five volumes (6 books) have already been published.

It should be noted that all volumes of the Collection published to date have been presented at the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, at the International Institute of Space Law, the European Center for Space Law, at international scientific conferences, and have received favorable reviews everywhere. The ICRC received requests for a relevant publication from specialized institutions in space law in Cologne (Germany), the National Center for Remote Sensing and Space Law at the University of Mississippi (USA), the Institute of Space Law at the University of Western Brittany (Brest, France), The National Institute for Space Research of Brazil and scientific institutions of the space profile of many other countries of the world.

Three scientific monographs have been published under the auspices of the Center:

I.P. Andrushko. Space law of Ukraine: problems of formation and development. Kyiv: Yurydychna dumka, 2006. 192 p.;
V.V. Semenyaka. Insurance in the sphere of space activities: theoretical and legal principles. Kyiv: VD «Akademperiodika», 2008. 240 p.,
N.R. Malysheva. Essays on space law. Kyiv: Alerta. 2010. 296 p.
as well as two collections of scientific works:

«Status, application and progressive development of international and national space law. Materials of the UN/Ukraine symposium (workshop) on space law (November 6–9, 2006, K. , Ukraine) (responsible editor N. R. Malyshev). K. , 2007. 286 p.;
Enhancing the potential of space law. Materials of the international scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the creation of the International Center for Space Law. Kyiv, June 5-6, 2008 (editor N. R. Malysheva). K. , Atika. 186 p.
The Center's employees constantly publish scientific articles on space law in Ukrainian and foreign scientific publications.

One of the most important aspects of the ICSL activities is international cooperation in the field of space law. The Center actively develops and maintains scientific ties with international organizations and foreign institutions in the field of space law.

Every year, information on the activities of the ICSL is subject to consideration by the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Vienna, Austria). The Ukrainian delegation at the annual sessions of the Legal Subcommittee of this Committee is formed mainly by employees of the Center, works actively, making proposals on almost every item on the agenda of the sessions.

The Director of the ICSL, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine Yu. S. Shemshuchenko, and his deputy, Academician of the NAPRN of Ukraine N. R. Malysheva, were elected corresponding members of the International Academy of Astronautics.

In 2003, the ICSL was accepted as a collective member of the International Institute of Space Law; its individual member since 2001 is the Deputy Director of the Center, N. R. Malyshev.

In 2004, the ICSL was accepted as the first collective member of the Ukrainian Peace Council, and senior researcher S. V. Kuznetsova joined the Board of this authoritative public organization.

In 2007, N. R. Malysheva was elected to the UN Group of International Experts on Space Law Education, which was tasked with developing programs and plans on space law for the UN regional centers on space engineering and technology.

In 2008, the ICSL concluded a Framework Agreement on Cooperation with the international satellite communications organization «Intersputnik». And in 2010 — with the Institute of Space Law and Telecommunications of the University of Paris-11 (France).

The ICPC has established permanent business relations with UNIDROIT (Rome, Italy), the International Academy of Astronautics, the International Institute of Space Law of the International Astronautical Federation (Paris, France), the European Center for Space Law (France), International Institute of Air and Space Law at Leiden University (Leiden, Netherlands), Institute of Air and Space Law of the University of Lapland (Finland), Brazilian Society of Aerospace Law (Brazil),Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, German Aerospace Center and Institute for Air and Space Law of the University of Cologne (Germany), Institute for International Spaces of the University of Western Brittany, Faculty of Law and Economics, Brest (France), The China National Space Administration's Policy and Law Office and some others.

In order to deepen the creative ties of the ICSL with international scientific institutions and higher educational institutions in the field of space law, as well as to improve the qualifications of the Center's scientists, the ICSL practices training young employees of the Center abroad. Thus, junior researchers I. P. Andrushko, O. B. Chebotaryov and O. S. Stelmakh in different years took the summer school courses on EU space law, organized by the European Space Agency. And O. S. Stelmakh, completed a full course of the bilingual (French-English) program of the Institute of Space Law and Telecommunications at the University of Paris-XI, receiving a master's degree in the specialty «space law and telecommunications law» (2007—2008), and also took a course in the specialty «space sciences» at the International Space University, Strasbourg (2008). In 2008, a research fellow of the Center, Ph.D. V. P. Nepyvoda, was on an internship in the USA. In the context of the rapid development of international integration processes in the field of space activities, the ICPC aims to continue scientific exchanges, internships, and training of ICPC specialists in leading world centers in space law, on the one hand, and on the other hand, training foreign academic staff in space law on the basis of the Center.

The most important form of international cooperation of the ICSL has always been the holding of international conferences, symposia, round tables, and other scientific and scientific-practical forums. In September 2001, the ICSL initiated and organized the international scientific conference «Legal Issues of Regional Cooperation of States in the Sphere of Space Activities». In 2003, in Kyiv, together with lawyers working in the space industry of the PRC, the Center held a bilateral Ukrainian-Chinese round table on the development of national space legislation.

In 2005, the ICSL became a co-organizer of the European-Ukrainian seminar on intellectual property rights and technology transfer in the space sector, organized within the framework of the Bistro 2 project «Commercialization of Ukrainian Space Technologies and Regulation of Intellectual Property Rights».

The recognition of the Center's great contribution to the development of international and national space law was the decision of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to hold the Fifth International Symposium-Workshop on Space Law UN/Ukraine «in Ukraine, based on the ICSL, Status, Application and Progressive Development of International and National Space Law» (November 2006, Kyiv). The symposium was attended by 85 space law specialists from 22 countries and 2 international organizations. 33 reports were heard and recommendations submitted to the United Nations for approval by its General Assembly were adopted.

In addition, the Center's employees actively participate in the work of scientific forums held in the field of space activities, under the auspices of the International Institute of Space Law, the International Astronautical Federation, the European Center for Space Law, etc., where they deliver scientific reports and presentations.

The results of the activities of a particular structure are always better seen from the outside. It is external assessments of work that are always the most objective, devoid of layers of self-interest and subjectivity. The Center has something to be proud of in this position.

The activities of the ICSL have been analyzed repeatedly in the reports of the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to the UN General Assembly. Thus, in the Report of the 42nd session of the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, held in April 2003, the ICSL was mentioned twice. In particular, the session «welcomed the contribution made by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to the development and promotion of space law. In this regard, the Subcommittee was briefed on activities carried out by the National Center for Remote Sensing and Space Law at the University of Mississippi (United States of America) and the International Center for Space Law in Kyiv». And in the report of the 46th session of the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space to the UN General Assembly (UN Doc. A/AC. 105/C.2/L/268/Add.1), deep gratitude was expressed to the ICSL for organizing the work of the symposium — workshop (paragraph 34).

The scientific work of the ICSL was twice reviewed by the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, where its director, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine Yu. S. Shemshuchenko, made a report on the work of the Center. As a result of the review, 2 resolutions of the Presidium of the NAS of Ukraine were adopted: No. 55 of March 15, 2000 and of 2007. Thus, Resolution No. 55 of March 15, 2000, «Theoretical Problems of Scientific Research in the Field of Space Law», in particular, approved the activities of the ICPC in developing topical theoretical and applied problems of international space law and space law of Ukraine, providing legal support for national space projects and programs, and outlined promising areas of further scientific research by the Center.

During the international conference «Ukraine — EU: Cooperation in the Space Industry» (Kyiv, January 2004), a letter was received from the President of the European Center for Space Law, expressing support for the Center's activities in establishing cooperation with European structures related to space law, in particular, it was noted: «I welcome the establishment of productive working relations between the Space Law Center in Kyiv and the European Center for Space Law, in particular, regarding the mutual exchange of documentation and information about our space law programs, your participation in the publications of the ECCL journal, etc. I also hope that our cooperation can develop further through closer cooperation in the field of creating relevant databases for the benefit of Ukrainian and European students. I am convinced that the appropriate type of contacts is very useful for the development and establishment of space law.» A lot of positive feedback was received by the ICSL with support for the Center's printed products, primarily the multi-volume publication «Space Legislation of the Countries of the World».

So, in a letter from Dr. Marietta Benko, Director of the Institute of Air and Space Law at the University of Cologne (Germany), addressed to the ICCP, it is stated: «One copy of the Collection «Space Legislation of the Countries of the World» has just been received by our Institute. We are very impressed with the work done by your institution and are sincerely grateful to have a copy of this excellent publication in our library. With sincere greetings and great thanks, Marietta Benko.

And the well-known French scholar in the field of international space law, Professor Armel Kerrest, in his letter to the ICSL, notes: «I had the opportunity to use a copy of the thematic collection «Space Legislation of the Countries of the World» in the library of our Faculty of Law and Economic Sciences. I noted the high quality of this book. I believe that this work and the subsequent volumes that have been announced are of great interest from the point of view of studying national space legislation.And the fact that they are published in Russian and English allows for their international distribution. With the expansion of private activities in space, national laws are beginning to take a decisive place. Therefore, your publication fully meets the current need to understand how the requirements of international space law are implemented in national legislation. With great gratitude for the very necessary work you are doing, Armel Kerrest, Professor at the University of Western Brittany, Member of the French delegation to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, President of the French Space Law Association, Corresponding Member of the International Astronautical Academy, Member of the International Institute of Space Law,Member of the Space Law Committee of the International Law Association, Member of the Administrative Council of the European Center for Space Law, President of the Institute of Space Law (France).

In the near future, the ICSL plans not only to deepen and develop the already established forms and directions of its activities, but also to expand their spectrum.

The main direction of the Center's scientific research in the future will remain regional aspects of cooperation in the space sphere. This is the direction where we have a certain scientific priority, and on the issues of the peculiarities of cooperation between the states of the world in the space sphere, the ICSL is the only scientific institution, which summarizes relevant experience and to which foreign scientists and specialists working in the field of practical application of space law turn for information and consultations. The long-term plans of the ICPC envisage the development of a model of legal regulation of regional cooperation of states in the space sphere using the example of the CIS, which will be proposed to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space for possible subsequent expansion to other regions.

The customers of the ICSL works and services have so far mainly been Ukrainian space entities. However, the Center's potential allows it to expand the spatial scope of its activities, extending it to other countries. Negotiations are also underway with the Aerospace Committee of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan on a more active involvement of specialists from this country in the activities of the ICSL, in particular, a proposal is being considered to include representatives of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the ICSL Supervisory Board.

Despite the diversity of the ICSL activities, the dominant focus of the Center's work remains on meeting the practical legal needs of the space industry. After all, this is precisely what the idea of ​​its creation was connected with. In this regard, there are also many promising opportunities. In particular, given the uniqueness of the Center in the CIS and throughout Central and Eastern Europe, the creation of a Mediation Center for conflict resolution (reconciliation) would be promising, arising in the process of carrying out space activities between its subjects, as well as in the course of implementing international space projects and programs, the parties to which are space subjects of the CIS countries, Central and Eastern Europe. Such centers operate successfully in many regions of the world, they are particularly widespread in the United States of America, they have proven in practice their viability and ability to resolve conflicts at the earliest (pre-trial) stage, which, among other things, allows conflict participants to reach compromises and at the same time avoid large financial losses. The ICSL has certain theoretical developments in the relevant field, but in order to move from an idea to its implementation, significant organizational steps must be taken. It is also important to prepare the public consciousness of the subjects of space activity in the region, to convince them of the prospects and usefulness of the functioning of the relevant Mediation Center.

For several years now, Ukraine has consistently spoken out in the UN Committee on Outer Space in support of the idea of ​​codifying international space law through the development and adoption of a comprehensive Convention on Space Law. This idea is officially mentioned in the Space Committee as the «proposal of China, Greece, Ukraine». It is also worth noting the contribution of the Center's employees in promoting this idea, which is gaining more and more supporters every year. Considering that the necessity and expediency of carrying out codification work under the auspices of the UN Committee on Outer Space is most actively advocated today by the countries of the Central and Eastern European region, we believe that the International Center for Space Law at the Institute of State and Law of the NAS of Ukraine could provide methodological guidance for the previous work on the formulation of the concept of the relevant Convention, as well as developing its structure, involving all interested specialists in space law from other states — members of the UN Committee on Outer Space and interested international organizations — in this work.

In general, summing up the functioning of the International Center for Space Law at the Institute of State and Law, it is necessary to note, first of all, the productivity of the very idea of ​​creating such structures, which has stood the test of time. However, this does not mean that one should recklessly resort to the formation of more and more new units of this nature within the structure of the Institute or under it.

The experience of the ICSL convinces us that to ensure the viability of such structures, a combination of several conditions is important. First, there must be a social order from a specific sphere, in other words, the interest of practitioners in the functioning of the relevant center.

The experience of the ICSL convinces us that to ensure the viability of such structures, a combination of several conditions is important. First, there must be a social order from a specific sphere, in other words, the interest of practitioners in the functioning of the relevant center, it must be a stable interest with long-term goals; thirdly, the activities of the relevant scientific centers must definitely be based on the concept of diversification of funding sources, self-sufficiency, however, it is unlikely that a center will be viable without relying on a certain main source of funding, i.e. there must be a structure interested in stable long-term funding of the center in question; finally, the qualification requirements for the center's staff should be somewhat different, than to employees of the main structures of the Institute - departments focused exclusively on scientific work: the selection of personnel for the centers should be based on the optimal combination of deep theoretical knowledge with the ability to use it in practical situations in the law enforcement sphere. I am confident that compliance with all these requirements will certainly ensure the success of the relevant center.

Given that the process of creating centers at/at the V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law has become widespread and continues to develop, it is important to develop general legal principles for the relationship of such structures with the Institute. Of course, this document cannot be adopted in the form of a Model Regulation, since today it is unrealistic to equalize the status of different centers, there is no uniformity in this matter and there cannot be: Each center was created based on specific conditions, motivations, and different organizational, legal, and financial and economic principles. However, all of these are structures that work under the methodological guidance of the Institute of Physical Education of the NAS of Ukraine. Therefore, it is worth adopting a local methodological document that reflects the criteria for creating relevant centers, the general principles of organization and activity of centers at the Institute, and the foundations of the relationship of such centers with the Institute: in what forms methodological guidance, planning and coordination of scientific activities of centers are carried out, periodicity and form of reporting, financial obligations, the procedure for appointment to management positions in the centers and some other issues. Such an approach, on the one hand, will contribute to further improvement of the work of the relevant centers, their legal organization, and on the other hand — the formation of a targeted policy of the Institute for the development of relevant structures.