The peculiarities of implementation of UN international agreements on the questions of space activity into the national legislation of EU member-states

Abstract

The subject of this article is the process of implementation of UN international agreements on the questions of space activity into the national legislation of EU member-states. The author leans on the fact that considering the insignificant volume of national space legislation passed in the EU member-states, as well as differences of legal framework in regulation of space activity, the actors of space activity can shift their space activity into the countries with more favorable space legislation. For the purpose of prevention of this trend, on the EU level there is a trend on unification and harmonization of legislation and policy in the area of space activity. The conclusion is made on the different approach and disaccord in the practice of implementation of the norms of international agreements into the national space legislation. Particularly, in the national space legislation of the EU member-states, there are differences in exercising state control over the activity of nongovernmental legal entities, namely in the procedures of obtaining a permit for realization of space activity by the actors of space activity outside the national borders. There is also discrepancy in the questions of licensing of space activity: different requirements for license acquisition and terms of application processing, as well as various national authorities executing the function of licensing of space activity.  Approaches also vary with regards to the questions of responsibility for the harm inflicted by space object, so is the practice of creation the national register of space objects launched by the states.