ABSTRACT
As can be seen from our other chapters space activities take place within a framework of international law that includes multilateral and bilateral treaties and customary international law. With the exception of North Korea all the spacecompetent and space-faring states are party to the Outer Space Treaty,1 and most are also party to ARRA,2 the Liability Convention,3 the Registration Convention,4 and are members of the ITU.5 There is therefore a broad base of multilateral agreement as to the international law of space.6 In addition a complex bundle of bilateral agreements may be relevant in a given instance. Account has also to be taken of ‘soft law’ that includes UN Resolutions and agreements formal and informal, memoranda of understanding,7 and a series of developing codes of
1 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (1968) 610 UNTS 205; (1968) UKTS 10, Cmnd. 3519; 18 UST 2410, TIAS 6347; (1967) 6 ILM 386; (1967) 61 AJIL 644.
