law will result. Such agreements will identify or define valid international standards. The self-interest of countries bound by such agreements will lead largely to their self-enforcement. However, it is to be expected that there will be violations of or departures from the agreed standards. This will result in international liability and procedures will be required to secure the implementation of the agreements, including the assessment of monetary damages against the violator. This subject will be treated below when the 1972 "Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects" is analyzed. 5.5 The 1967 Principles Treaty and the Duty to Consult Although the potential hazards of the transmission of energy by microwave will be most carefully assessed in laboratory situations before a SPS is put into operation, it is possible that limited experiments involving the beaming of microwaves from geostationary orbital level to Earth will be required in order to test the laboratory findings. Or, the initial broadcast could be of more substantial dimensions. Whether treated as an experiment or not the terms of Article 9 of the 1967 Principles Treaty are relevant. This Article imposes on a State embarking on an activity or experiment which would cause potentially harmful interference with the activities of other States bound by the agreement in their peaceful exploration and use of the space environment to undertake appropriate international consultations. Pursuant to the Article such consultations are to be undertaken prior to proceeding with such activity or experiment. In explaining the international commitment contained in this Article to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate, Ambassador Goldberg stated:
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==