The Defects Of The International Legal System Of Outer Space Debris Governance And Countermeasures

The development of science and technology continues to broaden the boundaries of human exploration of the world.Outer space has become the "fourth frontier" of human civilization after land,ocean,and atmospheric space.However,the development of outer space exploration over the past few decades has also brought about a byproduct-space debris.Hundreds of millions of space debris are floating in low-Earth orbit and geostationary orbit.These space debris flying at high speed in space pose a great collision threat to space objects in orbit and affect the development of manned spaceflight and space assets.What’s more serious is that the natural attenuation process of space debris is quite slow,causing pollution to the outer space environment itself,and also hindering mankind’s further exploration and use of outer space.At present,the international law of space debris governance is based on the framework of the five major treaties on outer space law,and supplemented by international soft law such as norms and guidelines formulated by the United Nations Outer Space Committee and other international organizations and agencies.However,in terms of effectiveness,the existing legal rules do not provide effective legal supply for space debris governance:the principled provisions in the treaty apply to space debris governance with ambiguity,gaps and disputes;international soft law lacks binding force;space debris Active removal measures face obstacles to the jurisdiction of space objects and disputes over the militarization of outer space;the liability mechanism for damage caused by space debris is insufficient.This article uses the relevant treaties of outer space law,soft law and state practice to prove the obligation of space debris mitigation;and draws on the relevant treaties of international environmental law and international law of the sea,proposes reasonable restrictions on the jurisdiction of space objects,and clarifies the space The legality and legitimacy of the voluntary removal of debris,and suggestions for the improvement of the space debris damage compensation mechanism.Chapter One systematically sorts out the space debris problem and the shortcomings and deficiencies of the current legal system.Firstly,summarized and sorted out the definition of space debris in relevant international documents,clarified the connotation and extension of space debris,and clarified the research object of this article.Secondly,gives a brief introduction about current situation of space debris,and summarizes the main sources,hazards,and management necessity of space debris.Finally,summarizes the current deficiencies of the outer space legal system in dealing with space debris governance,which are mainly manifested in the unclear mitigation obligations,legal obstacles to active removal,and gaps in the liability mechanism for space damage.Chapter Two analyzes the international law basis of space debris mitigation obligations.Firstly,based on the environmental protection clauses and related basic principles of the Outer Space Treaty,the interpretation of the treaty is used to clarify the meaning and scope of adjustment of the terms of the relevant clauses,which can be used as the basis of international law for space debris mitigation obligations.Secondly,looking for a legal basis from other international law departments such as international environmental law,it is believed that the "non-harmful foreign environmental principle",the "sustainable development principle" and the "precautionary principle" can also be used to regulate space debris in the outer space environment.Finally,it summarized the latest development of outer space soft law and its implementation effects in practice,and analyzed the important value of outer space soft law in space debris mitigation,such as the "Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines",and believes that it has the potential to transform into customary international law or international law.Chapter Three discusses the obstacles and countermeasures for the active removal of space debris.The active removal of space debris is widely regarded as a fundamental measure to solve the problem of space debris,but its implementation faces several legal disputes.In this chapter,first analyzes the legality of space debris removal measures,points out the difference and boundary between them and the militarization of outer space,and proposes to establish a multilateral mechanism for the active removal of space debris to regulate the activities of active removal of space debris.Subsequently,it discussed the obstacles of the space object jurisdiction system to the initiative to remove space debris,clarified the necessity of removing the legal obstacles,and proposed solutions and ideas to clarify the reasonable scope of the space object jurisdiction system.Chapter Four analyzes the shortcomings of the existing space debris damage liability legal system,then proposes corresponding suggestions for improvement.The responsibility mechanism is an important part of the space debris governance system.It is related to the pre-deterrence and subsequent punishment of actors.It can effectively guide the participants in space activities to deal with the issue of space debris governance in a responsible manner.However,under the current liability mechanism,there are problems such as the difficulty of imputation caused by fault liability,the limited scope of damage compensation,the difficulty of clarifying the responsible subject,and the absence of the subject of compensation.You can refer to the governance experience of other global public domains,set up specialized organizations to assume management responsibilities on behalf of all mankind,amend the principle of liability,expand the scope of damage compensation,and establish an effective liability system to achieve the perfection of the space debris damage compensation mechanism.