The Musings of Chris Samuel

After a bit of stochastic web-enabled research¹ I found this little piece of information from the UNSW Law Journal that everyone should bookmark away just in case they need it..

There’s A Satellite In My Backyard! - Mir And The Convention On International Liability For Damage Caused By Space Objects.

But what is the legal position in relation to damage caused by the return to Earth of a space object such as Mir? Are there any rules in place to cover such an eventuality? Under what circumstances would Russia have been responsible at international law for any such damage? What would be the extent of its liability? How is damage to be measured and what procedures (if any) are in place to facilitate compensation claims and to arrive at a determination of responsibility and its consequences? Once a determination is made, is it a legally binding and enforceable decision?

Just remember where you read it when you need it..

1. i.e. random searching looking for the conclusion of this case triggered by catching up on a story of Rich’s. [back]