ABSTRACT
The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the OST) was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 19 December 1966, opened for signature on 27 January 1967, and entered into force on 10 October 1967.1 By that date it had been signed by ninety-three states and ratified by sixteen, a total of one-hundred and nine out of a then UN membership of one-hundred and twenty-three. As at January 2008 it had been ratified by ninety-nine states and signed by another twenty-five,2 a total of one-hundred and twenty-four out of a UN membership of one-hundred and ninety-two.3 In its annual Resolutions on the Reports of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the UN General Assembly regularly exhorts states to sign and ratify the Space Treaties. It is therefore disappointing that the number of states involved by either ratification or signature in this fundamental statement of principles has increased by only fifteen in forty years, a small number given the increase of sixty-nine in the UN membership. Nonetheless the proportion of UN membership is an element to be borne in mind when assessing its importance. Another important element is the fact that arguably no state which is likely to enter space itself – as opposed to buying service from another – is a non-party.
