Professor Sundahl on Art. 5

Amanda Berman Author

02/18/2019 Added

35 Plays

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Professor Mark Sundahl of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law gives an overview of Art. 5 of the Outer Space Treaty.

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[00:00:01.950]Good morning I am Amanda Bergman.
[00:00:03.600]I am a second year law student
[00:00:04.990]at the University of Nebraska College of Law.
[00:00:07.360]I'm a member of our Space, Cyber
[00:00:09.140]and Telecommunications program.
[00:00:11.270]And as part of that program we are creating videos
[00:00:13.670]for each of the articles of the Outer Space Treaty.
[00:00:16.940]With me today is Professor Mark Sundahl
[00:00:19.180]to describe the fifth article of the Outer Space Treaty.
[00:00:22.590]Professor.
[00:00:24.440]Thank you Amanda, it's very nice
[00:00:26.310]to be part of this important project
[00:00:28.360]to spread the word about space law
[00:00:30.060]and give people a basic understanding.
[00:00:33.210]As Amanda said my name is Mark Sundahl
[00:00:36.920]and I'm a law professor
[00:00:38.870]at Cleveland Marshall College of Law.
[00:00:41.480]At Cleveland State University
[00:00:42.770]and I'm also the director
[00:00:44.720]and founder of the global space Law Center
[00:00:46.900]at the University.
[00:00:48.330]So it's a pleasure to be here
[00:00:49.800]and my topic today is article five of the Outer Space Treaty
[00:00:54.320]which is right up my alley
[00:00:55.610]because as I mentioned to Amanda few minutes ago
[00:00:59.210]I have once upon a time written an article about it.
[00:01:02.530]We'll get to that in a moment.
[00:01:04.470]Article five deals with the rescue of astronauts
[00:01:11.670]which was very high on the list of priorities
[00:01:14.480]for the United States and the Soviet Union
[00:01:17.290]when the Outer Space Treaty was written in the 60s.
[00:01:21.090]Article one deals with the free use of outer space.
[00:01:24.460]Article two prohibits the assertion on national sovereignty.
[00:01:30.100]We have article three which deals
[00:01:32.400]with the application of general international law
[00:01:35.140]and four which deals with military matters
[00:01:38.250]that sets the stage for the basics of space law
[00:01:41.900]and what is next article five.
[00:01:45.460]Requiring states to rescue and assist astronauts
[00:01:49.610]who are in distress
[00:01:51.480]who have experienced an anomaly
[00:01:52.800]a flight anomaly and have crash landed perhaps
[00:01:55.170]in a country that they didn't intend to land in
[00:01:57.860]and it requires that that state
[00:02:00.310]signatories to the treaty
[00:02:02.690]assist these astronauts.
[00:02:05.420]And that was very important to the community at the time
[00:02:09.500]the United States and the USSR,
[00:02:11.370]the only two spacefaring countries at the time.
[00:02:15.678]And the importance of that
[00:02:19.094]is highlighted by the fact that
[00:02:20.860]after the Outer Space Treaty,
[00:02:22.340]the next space treaty
[00:02:24.820]that was written was regarding
[00:02:28.780]rescue and return of astronauts as well as spacecraft
[00:02:31.700]to launching state.
[00:02:33.540]That was drafted before
[00:02:35.930]they even got some liability convention.
[00:02:37.970]So this rescue of astronauts
[00:02:40.720]and the return of technology was very high
[00:02:43.100]on the list of priorities.
[00:02:45.150]We wanted to make sure our astronauts were treated well
[00:02:48.330]and not interrogated
[00:02:50.180]and were returned to their country of origin,
[00:02:52.907]and as detailed in the rescue and return agreement
[00:02:56.380]The second Space Treaty was also necessary in return any
[00:03:02.130]Space Technology spacecraft
[00:03:04.098]that may have crash landed elsewhere.
[00:03:06.620]So let's take a little look
[00:03:09.650]at the article five
[00:03:12.030]talks about astronauts
[00:03:14.860]and it regards astronauts.
[00:03:16.540]It defines astronauts in a peculiar
[00:03:19.400]and really rather poetic way.
[00:03:21.840]It talks about astronauts as envoys of mankind.
[00:03:27.530]Is there such a thing?
[00:03:29.500]An envoy is usually designated by a country
[00:03:32.610]to represent that country.
[00:03:34.410]Does mankind designate envoys?
[00:03:37.130]it doesn't but the idea is that astronauts
[00:03:40.330]are to be treated good
[00:03:42.360]granted this exalted status as envoys of mankind
[00:03:46.090]and treated accordingly
[00:03:47.930]that is saved, rescued
[00:03:50.580]get healthy return to their home states
[00:03:54.330]along with the spacecraft if they have crashed in.
[00:03:58.720]And so envoys of mankind is an interesting phrase.
[00:04:04.320]And it becomes more interesting
[00:04:05.970]as we try in this new age of space technology
[00:04:10.120]to apply these existing treaties
[00:04:13.670]old if you want to call them, they're 50 years old.
[00:04:17.580]Apply them to the current situation
[00:04:20.330]where we have private passengers
[00:04:23.480]that will be travelling in outer space.
[00:04:26.690]And the question here is whether private passengers
[00:04:31.650]flying on a suborbital space plan, for example,
[00:04:35.307]whether they can be deemed astronauts?
[00:04:39.360]Are they also envoys of mankind?
[00:04:42.470]And so this is one question that space lawyers
[00:04:45.320]are working on today,
[00:04:47.420]as the industry transforms
[00:04:49.840]into a government-led industry to private industry
[00:04:53.330]with private paying passengers.
[00:04:58.160]So it's open for debate.
[00:05:00.390]What exactly does astronaut mean
[00:05:02.600]and do private passengers qualify?
[00:05:06.870]It's complicated further by the rescue and return agreement
[00:05:09.870]which elaborates upon this duty
[00:05:12.470]but uses a different word, personnel.
[00:05:16.290]Who are personnel,
[00:05:17.123]and do private passengers count as personnel
[00:05:19.620]which more typically refers to employees.
[00:05:23.540]And so the debate continues.
[00:05:26.190]My opinion has always been that article five,
[00:05:31.270]and the rest of in-return agreement
[00:05:32.970]was motivated by humanitarian impulse.
[00:05:36.330]And so it should be interpreted broadly
[00:05:40.870]with a view towards enabling mankind humanity in general
[00:05:46.370]to access the heavens.
[00:05:48.440]And so I think it would be contrary to that purpose
[00:05:52.410]if we were to interpret this article narrowly
[00:05:56.200]to apply solely to government employees.
[00:05:59.940]Astronauts and not to private astronauts.
[00:06:05.090]So that's one of the fascinating aspects
[00:06:09.100]that is very much alive and in debate today.
[00:06:15.290]Perfect.
[00:06:16.123]Thank you so much for that Professor.
[00:06:17.170]We really appreciate it.
[00:06:19.180]My pleasure.

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Professor Sundahl on Art. 5

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