International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects With the entry into force of the Liability Convention in 1973, legal negotiations that had been before COPUOS since March 1964, were brought to a conclu- sion. The Liability Convention contained no provisions affecting the res communis character of outer space at the geostationary orbital level nor did it deal with the right of States to make use of orbital slots or to capture and transmit solar energy. It covered the possibility of collisions, malfunctionings, and the consequences of such situations, including an assessment of the kinds of damages that might be recovered. Moreover, this agreement did contain important provisions relating to a definition of a space object, including component parts, and the kinds of damage that could be caused. Unlike the Principles Treaty, this agreement identified spatial areas in which varying standards of proof of harm were applicable, clarified the nature of damages, identified principles of liability, made precise the parties who could be held responsible, defined who could be claimant, established claims procedures, fixed the rule of law to be applied to damages, and formalized the dispute resolving process. Although relevant terms of Article 1 will be analyzed below, it will be helpful to identify briefly the articles that have relevance to the issues of collisions, malfunctionings, microwave exposures, and 24 UST 2389, TIAS 7762. The agreement entered into force for the United States on October 9, 1973. It is set forth in Appendix B. N. M. Matte, Aerospace Law, pp. 153-174 (1977); Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, Analysis and Background Data, Staff Report, Committee on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, United States Senate, Committee Print, 92nd Cong., 2nd Sess. (1972). Cited hereafter as Staff Report.
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