Access to space technology has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. Traditionally, access to space capabilities required dedicated receivers and significant investment. With the advent of new information technologies that incorporate and disseminate the benefits of space directly to users, access to space technology is no longer so exclusive. As the seamless delivery of space capabilities, from navigation and position to data flows, makes it difficult to distinguish space capabilities from other information infrastructures, legal structures developed to govern space technologies are being forced into contact with a variety of other legal structures. Legal questions abound as new markets, innovative technologies, and increased data access emerge, and the lex specialis of space accommodates these trends. This book investigates how traditional space law is developing as space technology enters the daily lives of individuals everywhere.

Progress in exploration and exploitation of outer space is proceeding rapidly, resulting in new space telecommunication services, innovative use of the constellation of satellite and new methods of prolonging the life of those satellites. In response, this book offers an analysis of outer space activities and the resulting legal implications. It offers a dual perspective. Firstly it looks at developments in international law, such as the regulation of non-GEO constellations, on-orbit services and in the field of space mining. Secondly, the book explores the developments on the African continent. Specifically it examines the growing need of space services in the area of mobile communications via satellites, internet access, Earth observations, disaster management, and navigation. This is an important contribution to one of the most exciting and fast moving fields in law today.

The publication Ownership of Satellites written under the editorship of professor Mahulena Hofmann and Dr. Andreas Loukakis from Luxembourg by a group of prominent international authors from the academia and practice of the law of space activities, deals with one of the imminent problems of the law of outer space - the ownership of satellites and its transfer. The reason for opening the discussion on this subject is the fact that on the one hand, the main legal problems remain - only the launching State can register a space object and only the launching state is liable for damages caused by the satellite, and on the other hand the emergence of several new phenomena, such as condominium of satellites or the exponential existence of small satellites. Furthermore, the relation between the registration of space objects under UN framework and the assignment of frequencies is practically unknown to non-internals. This situation contributed to the wish to analyze this issue not only from the perspective of international law of outer space, but also from the perspective of telecommunication law and European Union law, offering insights to the current practice. The publication is a contribution to the theoretical discussions on the law of outer space, but can serve as an important tool used by the lawyers, including those from the financial and insurance sectors.

This collection analyses the regulatory aspects of harmful interference faced by those entities operating space communication and broadcasting. While technology reacts to this international phenomenon with the development of continuously improving technological systems for preventing and combating harmful interference, its international regulatory and legal framework develops at a much slower pace. Issues discussed include the increasing deterioration of signals from broadcasting and communication satellites, including cases of intentional interference known as `jamming'; the human rights balance between freedom of expression and protection from hate speech; the efficacy of the current regulatory system and the legal consequences of non-compliance; the role of national authorities, and supranational bodies such as the EU and UN. The contributors include experts drawn from international and national academia, the ITU, national regulatory authorities and operators to present an international, multidimensional, and critical analysis of this complex phenomenon.

Which dispute settlement mechanisms are available in the area of space communication? Their choice is clearly determined by the legal character of those who are parties in the dispute - States, international intergovernmental organisations, private entities or even individuals. In this study the analysis of various dispute settlement mechanisms demonstrates that not all existing mechanisms are equally capable of serving this purpose. It appears that the parties to a dispute often prefer to search for a consensus and an arbitration procedure prior to taking part in international adjudication. The cases where formalised international courts are involved in this area have been relatively rare. Space communication disputes may often be similar to investment disputes; the decisive factors of this similarity are the high costs of investment, its international character, the necessity to maintain working relationships with the opposing party of the dispute after the conclusion of the dispute, the difficult technical background to the cases, little trust in court procedures, low indemnification and the fear of non-implementation of court decisions. As a consequence, it can be expected that mediation, negotiation and arbitration, but also alternative dispute settlement mechanisms will remain the main mechanisms of dispute settlement in the area of space communication in the near future.