Space Law Conference in India

International space law is a subject presently thoroughly dominated by leaders of the aerospace industry who are more than eager to privatize space to the benefit of corporate sponsors and wealthy individuals.

The aerospace industry has established space law departments at various universities around the world and are busy trying to rewrite United Nations space law that was established by the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Treaty.

Both of those treaties state that celestial bodies and their resources are “the common heritage of mankind and that an international regime should be established to govern” their extraction.

Currently no such international agreements exist.  In fact, during the Obama administration a bill was passed and signed into law giving US corporations and individuals the legal authority to make land claims on the moon and asteroids.  This could surely cause conflict in the future.

What is sorely needed at this time is a body of legal experts who wish to explore this celestial privatization issue from the point of view and interests of all humankind.  We are now lucky to have such an opportunity as a conference is being organized in Visakhapatnam, India on October 12-13, 2019 at the Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU). This conference is being co-sponsored by the Global Network (GN).

GN Advisory Board member Aruna Kammila, Assistant Professor at DSNLU, is organizing the conference which will be entitled “International Conference on Super Powers Domination in Outer Space and Global Sustainable Development”.  

Ms. Kammila writes, “The people of our planet must consider the question of the kind of seed one carries from earth into the heavens.  The essential objective of this conference is to give a stage to exhibit emerging issues and challenges in outer space and a contemporary analysis based on legal, political, economic as well as the scientific aspect in order to ensure peace and security in the international sphere with concern to outer space.”

Among the speakers scheduled to attend the conference will be History Professor Peter Kuznick from American University in Washington DC, Subrata Ghoshroy from MIT, and Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network.   

Global Network members will be given accommodation and food at the event free of charge.  The day after the conference international guests will be taken on a tour of Visakhapatnam. 

If interested in attending this important event please contact the GN office at 207-607-4255.

See conference brochure and details here