By Ijeoma Olorunfemi
Space treaty, associated with the rules, principles, standards of international law, contained in international treaties, principles governing the outer space was developed by the UN.
The treaty approved by the UN in December 1966 followed a submission of separate drafts of outer space treaties to the UN General Assembly in June same year by the U.S. and now defunct Soviet Union provides the framework for the International Space Law.
The International Space Law under auspices of UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) is the: “ Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.
It stipulates that “there is no claim for sovereignty in space, no nation can own space, the moon or any other body.
“ Weapons of mass destruction are forbidden in orbit and beyond, and the Moon, the planets, and other celestial bodies can only be used for peaceful purposes.“
Nations engaging in space activities have also adopted their national legislation to oversee their space activities.
These activities range from addressing issues on preservation of the space and Earth environment, liability for damages caused by space objects, rescue of astronauts, use of space-related technologies and international cooperation.
The OOSA provides information and advice, upon request to governments, non-governmental organisations and the public on space law.
This is aimed at promote understanding, acceptance and respect for the international space law provisions.
In domesticating space programme in Africa, the UN African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in English (UN-ARCSSTEE), domicile in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, was established in I998.
It is saddled with the responsibility of increasing indigenous capability in space science and technology applications.
The applications became evident through education and training at the post-graduate level in core disciplines such as Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System, Satellite Communications, Satellite Meteorology and Global Climate, Basic Space and Atmospheric Science.
Mr Nester Olusoji, Assistant Director, Legal Department, UN-ARCSSTEE, said the realisation of the value of space law at national, regional and supranational levels, prompted OOSA to introduce space law as a basic course in 2014.
“By 2014, OAU became the first university in Nigeria to participate in the Manfred Lachs Moot competition, and got to the semi-final stage, hence motivating other universities.
“Today, the law faculty OAU is recognised internationally for its capacity in the research and training in space law at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels’’, Olusoji said.
Whilst clarifying on Nigeria’s capacity to practice this area of law, Olusoji confirmed Nigeria has numerous experts in the field of space law, ranging from academia to government establishments and to private practitioners.
Mr Mujahid Indabawa, Assistant Director, Legal and Space Regulation Services, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), identified space law as an international law, but unconventional area practiced mainly by developed countries and few developing ones.
Indabawa said Nigeria has the legal backing to practice space law because it encompasses the practice of procuring a satellite, launching into the orbit and its operationalization.
“Nigeria is a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty, which is the framework for space law, consisting of its grand norms, laws and constitution.
“We derive every space revelation, law or theory from the Outer Space Treaty. It regulates production, procurement, deployment of satellites, and regulates how to operate the satellite.
“This is overseen by a body called the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), under the United Nations, domiciled in Vienna, Austria.
“We also have the Liability Convention; the Moon Treaty, an agreement governing the activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial bodies, Rescue of Astronauts Agreement and the Registration Convention.
“Whenever a country is a signatory to one of these treaties, then you can say it is practicing space law since it is international in nature’’, he said.
He further said that the National Space Act also empowers Nigeria to venture into space law, hence the NASRDA Act of 2010.
Indabawa said that the Nigerian educational curriculum needs to be evolve because there were emerging areas yet to be incorporated into the schools’ curriculum.
“The way forward is introducing space law in our universities; the government needs to do more to encourage this.
“We can bring in space law in modules because it can expose our students, it will bring Nigerians on the international map of international law practice,’’ he said.
He recalled that space economy was projected in 2020 to be a five billion dollars economy, adding that it surpassed the projection and earned over 50 billion dollars.
“This is an emerging sector that commercial companies are venturing into, it is no longer a government affair.
“The sector is now fully dominated by private companies, thus the need for more engineers, scientists, administrators and lawyers, because you cannot have a company without a lawyer.
With less than 20 space lawyers in Nigeria, Indabawa encouraged the youths to consider building a career in space law, becauseit is in high demand and space economy is lucrative.
Mr Collins Okeke, Associate Partner and Head, Space Law Practice Group of Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) firm, said the firm pioneered and delved into space law due to its growing global importance and opportunities.
Okeke explained that as Nigeria develops its space programme and satellite capabilities there was increasing need for legal expertise in the area.
However, he worries about minimal awareness of space law among undergraduate students and the public, with about less than one per cent of lawyers in the country involved in space law.
He, however, acknowledged that said awareness was slowly growing as Nigeria’s space activities increase and global space exploration and commercialisation gain more attention.
“The number is growing, but very slowly. As Nigeria’s space activities expand and as global space law becomes more relevant to Nigerian interests, more lawyers will begin to explore this area.
“The root cause of growth includes increased Nigerian space activities, emerging commercial opportunities, the growing global importance of space law, and opportunities for specialization.
“The Nigerian legal ecosystem is in the early stages of readiness for space law practice and while there’s growing potential, the infrastructure, expertise, and demand are still developing.
“Nigeria has a National Space Policy, a principal legislation, the NASRDA Act, a space agency and satellite programmes.
“All of these provide a foundation, but the market for space law services is still emerging and it will take time for the ecosystem to fully mature and support a robust space law practice’’, he said.
Okeke said that space law has a growing relevance, a correlation with telecommunications, Earth Observation and national security.
He said there should be increased education and awareness about space law in law schools and the legal community.
“There should be development of a more robust National Space Policy and legal framework, encouraging international cooperation and participation in space-related treaties, and creating opportunities for lawyers to specialise in this field’’, he said.
The legal expert said that as Nigeria continued to develop its space programme, the importance of space law was likely to grow, presenting both challenges and opportunities for the legal profession.
Dr Anne Agi, a space law lecturer at the University of Calabar, said while some people think that space is abstract, the life of a human revolved around space technology.
Agi affirmed that opportunities were opening up around space technology, the ecosystem evolving and making it the suitable time for interested parties to equip themselves.
“Most thoughts about space science technology were at some point speculations until proven to be true, scientists, the private sector across the globe are engaging.
“People are engaging with writing papers, making arguments, having conferences, seminars, all to understand space science and the more we rub minds, go for moot courts competitions, the benefits will come’’, he said.
Agi recognised that few universities in the country offered courses in space science-related disciplines such as Space Law, Astronomy, Space Engineering, Remote Sensing, Geoinformation application.
It is obvious that with the growing interests globally about space science and technology, areas such as space law that are connected to it will keep emerging as alternatives for career diversification. (NANFeatures)
