Environment Issues in International Dispute Settlement of Space Debris

摘要

Current discussion on international dispute settlement of space debris mainly aims at the potentiality of collision and the compensation for damages caused by the accident in outer space environment~1. Concerns over outer space environment protection continuously intensify as space debris proliferates, as well as both the risk of collision and operations for avoiding such accidents increase. Yet, debates on legal issues relating to the claims for pollution of or damages to outer space environment have not brought up significant changes~2. A legally binding instrument on outer space environment damages could enhance the effectiveness of existing practices of space debris mitigation which are largely characterized as soft law~3. In fact, so long as to pollution or contamination of outer space environment by space debris is not considered as a violation of international law, space debris mitigation efforts keep their voluntary nature and their effectiveness and consistence could hardly be warranted~4.