Res Communis

Now Available Without Charge: Selected Space Law Documents – 2008

by Joanne Irene Gabrynowicz with the bog faculty

The National Center for Remote Sensing, Air, and Space Law is pleased to make available, without charge, Selected Space Law Documents: 2008. It is a compilation of space law documents from the year 2008 that were gathered primarily from postings placed on Res Communis from 1 January through 31 December 2008. The postings are supplemented with materials from other sources that were published in 2008 but which were published too late to be posted as a blog entry in a timely manner. The compilation is a special supplement to the Journal of Space Law, the world’s oldest law review dedicated to space law. The Journal of Space Law, beginning with the first volume, is available on line through HeinOnLine.

            Selected Space Law Documents: 2008 demonstrates that the overall body of space law is continuing to grow. A major characteristic of this growth is the number of new laws promulgated at the national level. India, Iran, Japan, France, the Russian Federation (C.I.S), South Africa, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States all had new space laws in 2008. Internationally, space law growth can be seen in the materials produced by various U.N. bodies and a number of multilateral and bilateral agreements and statements, also contained in the compilation.