ABSTRACT
The air law (also called the airspace law) and the space law (also called the outer space law) are distinct branches of law; however, they are sometimes treated as one, called aerospace law. Air law represents the body of public and private law, both national and international, which regulates aeronautical activities and other uses of airspace. The term ‘international air law,’ in its current usage, primarily refers to that part of international law that affects civil aviation, including international institutions concerned with civil aviation. Space law (or international space law), on the other hand, regulates the activities of states, international organisations, and private entities in outer space, including the use of satellites. The essential difference between international air law and space law stems from the legal status of airspace and outer space. Whereas airspace, except international territories and territories under a mixed legal regime, is under the sovereignty of subjacent states or other subjects of international law (for instance, the Holy See), international outer space law is based on the free exploitation and use of outer space and the non-appropriation of outer space and celestial bodies.
