Res Communis

Pacific Rim National Space Law Summit: Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization / 环太平洋国家空间法会议: 亚太空间合作组织

by P.J. Blount with the blog faculty

The first presentation of the summit was given by Dean Haifeng Zhao of the Harbin Institute of Technology School of Law in Harbin China. The presentation was titled Current Legal Status and Recent Developments in APSCO and Its Relevance to Pacific Rim Space Law Activities.

Prof. Zhao started with a discussion of international cooperation. He stated that international cooperation makes space exploration more efficient by reducing costs and risks associated with the expensive field. With this in mind, he said, the Outer Space Treaty made international cooperation a fundamental principle of international space law. He then went on to say that cooperation was specifically needed in the Asia-Pacific region, which was the impetus for the establishment of Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO) by China, Thailand, and Pakistan. He said that the APSCO convention reflects the Outer Space Treaty in its call for international cooperation amongst developing countries.

He then went into a discussion of space cooperation in Asia. He stated that there were 3 categories of space countries in Asia. The first category includes those with independent space programs such as China, India, and Japan. The second is those that manufacture or utilize space technologies, such as South Korea. The third includes countries that enjoy the benefits of space technology Among these nations, different forms of bilateral cooperation have occurred as well as the Japanese initiated Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF).

He then turned to the establishment of APSCO. He said that this organization is the institutionalization of Asia-Pacific Cooperation efforts. The convention was signed in 2005, and entered into force in 2006. It has 7 members, and the headquarters are in Beijing, China. He noted that a 2009 program of work has been adopted.

Next, Prof. Zhao discussed the legal framework surrounding APSCO. He stated that the APSCO has full international legal status with the attendant benefits, including the ability to conclude treaty. Its objective is to improve the capacity of member states, promote economic development of member states, and increase cooperation of member states through space technology. He said a core principle of the convention was the peaceful use of outer space. He then listed the numerous competencies of APSCO in pursuance of its objectives, noting specifically that it can develop an industrial policy. He also stated that the APSCO convention is very similar to the ESA Convention.

The institutional structure of APSCO includes the Consul and the Secretariat, as well as other bodies to be determined as needed. The Consul is made of of ministers from the State parties, and is the highest decision making body in APSCO. The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General, and that the independent body has a wide range of responsibilities. According to Zhao, the organization is funded by contributions of the member states, and that disputes are to be resolved either through consultation or through arbitration.

Prof. Zhao next gave an assessment of ways to improve APSCO. He stated that APSCO needed to extend its membership, develop a space cooperation program as soon as possible, enhance cooperation with other space cooperation organization, and that an Asia-Pacific Center for Space Law should be established within the framework of APSCO.
He concluded by discussing the relationship between the law of APSCO and general international space law. He noted that APSCO has its own characteristics but that it complies with and enriches general space law. Because of this, Prof. Zhao asserted that APSCO will promote the development of space activities in the Pacific Rim.
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Chinese Translation of this post by Ryan Grimm, J.D. Candidate, Tulane University:

环太平洋国家空间法会议: 亚太空间合作组织

环太平洋国家空间法会议与会代表中第一个发表正式演讲的是哈尔滨工业大学法学院院长赵海峰教授。其演讲题目为“亚空组织现今的法律地位、晚近发展及其与环太平洋空间法和空间活动的关系”。

赵教授首先提到的是国际合作。他认为国际合作使太空探索的效率更高，因为它降低了这个昂贵领域的成本与风险。《外空条约》也是本着这种考虑才把合作 制订为国际空间法的一项根本原则。赵教授说亚太地区就更需要空间合作, 这个动机促进了中国、泰国与巴基斯坦共同建立亚太空间合作组织〔亚空组织〕、该组织也正好体现了《外空条约》对有关发展中国家的国际合作的呼吁。

接下来赵教授将话题转到了亚洲空间合作的现状上去。他说该地区有三类太空国家、第一类是那些拥有独立空间能力、比如中国、印度和日本；第二类国家是 那些能生产或利用空间科技的国家，其中以韩国最为典型。第三类国家主要享受空间科技所带来的利益、在这三类国家之间曾经以不同方式的开展过双边合作，其中 日本还开创了亚太地区空间局论坛。

赵教授接着把话题转到亚空组织的建立上去了。他说该组织是亚太合作的制度化表现。2005年签署的亚空组织公约于2006年即生效了。该组有七个成员国，总部位于中国北京。他还提到该组织2009年的工作方案已通过。

然后赵教授的演讲还涉及到与亚空组织有关的法律框架。亚空组织具有完全的国际法律地位以及所伴随的权利，包括缔结公约。该组织的目的是提高成员国的 能力、促进经济发展以及通过空间技术增加成员国之间的合作。此后，赵教授列出了亚空组织的相关能力、特意强调了该组织具有制定工业政策的能力。同时，他也 谈到《亚空组织公约》相当类似《欧空局公约》。

亚空组织的行政结构包括理事会与秘书处以及将来可增加的机构。理事会是由成员国部长组成的，是该组最高的决策机构，只有占据三分之二的多数票的决策 才可以通过；秘书处则由秘书长领导负责广泛的任务。据赵教授的介绍，该组织的资金来自成员国的会费。成员国之间的纠纷则需通过协商或仲裁来解决。
接下去赵教授评估了使亚空组织完善的方式。他认为该组织需要扩大成员，尽快发展空间合作项目，增进与其他空间合作组织的合作以及建立亚太空间法中心。

最后赵教授谈到关于亚空组织的法律与基本国际空间法的关系。他提到虽然该组织具有自己的特点，但是也须遵守并填补基本国际空间法的遗漏部分，因此赵教授认为该组织会促进亚太地区的空间活动。