A survey of Colombia's new outer space policy: Reforms in Colombian law

Abstract

This paper describes the changes the Colombian government needs to make in its legislation (including the Constitution), to provide a solid basis for its new outer space policy in consonance with international law.In Article 101 paragraph 3 the Colombian Constitution states: The segment of Geostationary Orbit over Colombia is part of your national territory. This article is at odds with international law, which prohibits any claim of sovereignty over outer space. Until now, the issue has not caused any difficulty; however, Colombia has recently embarked on an outer space policy and the existence of this article may deter other nations from entering any agreement or joint project due to the fear of implicitly accepting this claim of sovereignty. What is more, in Colombia such agreements or projects may be declared illegal, since they do not comply with the Constitution.However, the major problem is not this article, but the complex procedure required to change it. A Constitutional reform is necessary. Furthermore, outer space policy is not a priority issue on the public agenda. This barrier may hinder the efforts to set up a space program in Colombia.We introduce an alternative solution that does not reform the Colombian Constitution but allows the development of the country's space policy. This solution involves identifying the space sectors that would not be affected by Article 101, paragraph 3 and including them in the space policy; checking that the non-definition of the limits of outer space means that the agreements with other nations are not affected; and finally, considering the possibility of making specific declarations of non-recognition of sovereignty over outer space in the agreements signed with other nations (Similar to the American flag over the moon declaration. EEUU Law 83 Stat. 202, sect 8). All these measures can help the development of Colombian space policy as we wait for the country to reach a definitive solution in accordance with international law.