General principles of law in the regulation of space activities

Abstract

The formation of the contractual framework of international space law stopped around the beginning of the 1980s. Now a paradox has been created: the active involvement of individuals and legal entities in space activities is outside the scope of international law, and these persons are guided mainly by the national legislation of their States, so many contradictions and gaps are created. In this regard, interest is revived in such a legal category as the general principles of law, indicated as one of the sources of International Law in paragraph 3 of article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. The UN Committee on Outer Space, in which all law-making activities in this industry are concentrated, has been engaged in a thorough collection and analysis of national legislation for more than 10 years. In fact, this is an activity for the search and selection of general principles of law. Thus, the general principles of law become an element of the development of International Space Law.