Outer Space: Law, Policy and Governance

G S Sachdeva

In the wake of the euphoria consequent to the Soviet space forays and the US landing on the moon, innovative space law evolved rather rapidly in just two decades and then came a stalemate. In this hasty growth of nascent space law, some gaps remained, some inadvertently due to lack of vision and some deliberately, due to lack of consensus or because half-baked concepts remained pending till the achievement of a better understanding of space phenomena or development of supportive technology. These issues have since started jumping to centre-stage and this book falls in this niche of deficiencies.

A few challenges and unresolved contingencies that stare us in the face, needing to be addressed suitably, are space jurisprudence in jus cogens of space law, pointers on policy issues for India, hesitancy to incorporate international cooperation in domestic space statutes, futility of reiteration of the Convention Law in International Codes of Conduct as soft law adjuncts, absence of a legal regimen governing mining on asteroids by private enterprises, explication of the concept of Common Heritage of Mankind and modalities for sharing of benefits between nations, procedure for nomination of an astronaut as an envoy of mankind in space by name or designation to avoid confusion in the eventuality of multiple astronauts of multiple nationalities, all being at one place at the same time, et al. This book is a modest effort to help resolve issues in that direction.

G S Sachdeva Prof (Dr.) G.S. Sachdeva has been one of the pioneer-scholars in the field of Space Law for three decades. He is currently Adjunct Professor, Centre for International Legal Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Centre for Air and Space Law, NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. He is also Guest Faculty for WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, and Indian Academy of Diplomacy and International Law under the aegis of the Indian Society of International Law, New Delhi.

He obtained his Masters degree in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, and LL. B., in which he is Gold Medallist, from Nagpur University, Nagpur. He pursued his research studies in International Law and was awarded the degrees of Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

His post-doctoral research has concentrated on Air and Space Law issues. He has written extensively in professional law journals and edited books. He is the author of two books on Space Law, one book on Air Law and has circulated a Monograph on Space Tourism. He served in the Indian Air Force (IAF) for 25 years and retired as a Wing Commander. He graduated from the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, in 1973.