Liability for Commercial Outer Space Activities: Need for a Legal Framework in India

The book responds to the dissonance between the increase of commercial outer space activities and the absence of any legal framework in India. While holding a great promise, international space law remains a stable principle that the launching country is liable for any damage caused by outer space activities. The quantity of risk increases more when outer space is used not only by the sovereign states but also by non-governmental entities for commercial benefit. Both the municipal and international law accepted that money damages should compensate the harm. Therefore, allocation of the liability must be shared by the actual wrong doer. State practices are developed for the allocation of liability with non-governmental entities. The argument attacks the substance and structure of space policy in India, undermining claims as to its effectiveness and even sustainability. In responding to these challenges, this book uses analytical and comparative methods with the dynamic processes such as interview (structured and unstructured) to address the central question of basis and fundamental framework of space law in India. The objective of the thesis is to develop a plausible normative framework in India relating to commercial outer space activities. This normative framework provides a platform for exiting international legal norm and practices, as well as the basis of alternative understanding of international space law and the potential response to those problems, which are coherent and consistent with the use of outer space commercially by any country. The book offers three inter related conclusions. First, it identifies the international legal norms as the basis for the development of national legal framework in India. Secondly, it demonstrates those state practices developed by space-advanced nations who adopted national space legislation for the promotion and control of commercial outer space activities, and provides a useful legal framework background for adoption of domestic legal framework in India. Thirdly, it develops a normative framework for the commercial outer space activities in India.