With the Indian Prime Minister proposing a SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) satellite, the need to focus on space law in the region has become a necessity. Professor V. Balakista Reddy, Professor of International Law, Coordinator of M. K. Nayambar SAARC Law Centre and Head of the Centre for Air and Space Law, in an interview with the Daily News said it was important that each country has its own law customizing its own requirements and socioeconomic needs as we step into the space age recently.

He was in Colombo to conduct International Space Law workshops at the Kotelawala Defence University.

The Moragoda International Law Trust, a body established by Dr. Moragodage Christopher Walter Pinto, a Sri Lankan-born International lawyer, arbitrator and former diplomat, had invited him to speak in Sri Lanka. The Trust works to advance, promote and further education and knowledge in the field of International Law, with particular emphasis in the sphere of Public International Law.

Excerpts:

Q. Can you talk about your legal expertise?

A. My expertise is in international law, and my specialties include air and space law. I did a Master’s in international law, and I received my M.Phil and PhD in aerospace law from one of the best universities in India: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Q. And what are you focusing on in your talks?

A. My talks are focusing on international air law. When I say international air law, I mean issues in aerospace activities and increasing commercialisation. I’m also talking about space law, international space law. International space law consists of five important treaties: Outer Space Treaty 67, Rescue Agreement 68, Liability Convention 1972, then Registration Convention 1975, and Moon Agreement 1970. These five treaties constitute core space law, and they are hard laws. Treaties are hard laws. They are binding agreements. And then we have five soft laws. These include the 1963 UN General Assembly Resolution on exploitation of outer space, the Resolution on directly broadcasting satellites, the Resolution on Remote Sensing, and then legislation on nuclear power sources. How can countries use nuclear power sources? Then finally, we have one resolution on developing countries, because most of the time developing countries are latecomers in using space technology. So now they have emphasised including the developing countries. These five binding and five non-binding agreements make up core space law.

Q. And you’re talking about all of these laws here?

A. Yes. I will explain how these treaties can help bilateral and multilateral relations, particularly bilateralism: one to one. So, how can India and Sri Lanka cooperate in bilateral space matters? Though India is an emerging space power, not many developing countries are. I’m teaching about the commercialisation of space and air treaties. And one interesting thing that recently occurred is that the government of India declared that we are going to have a SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) satellite. Indian Prime Minister Modi, announced two years back that we should have a common satellite for our SAARC region. There are eight countries in SAARC, including India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, which recently joined. Most space law is international. But it is important that each country has its own law customising its own requirements and socioeconomic needs.

Q. Can you expand on the importance of SAARC a little bit more?

A. India and Sri Lanka have to further strengthen SAARC cooperation. I am teaching a class on SAARC, and we are doing a lot of activities on it. Various issues are coming up, and South Asian countries need to solve them through cooperation. We can overcome these issues. Regionalism is a happening thing. You have NAFTA, you have SAFTA, the European Union, and more. But when it comes to SAARC, not much is happening because of political rivalries between India and Pakistan. This should be secondary, as development is the most important thing. With the South Asian Free Trade Association (SAFTA), a lot of bilateral agreements are happening. India and Sri Lanka are doing well, but we can improve. Development is the most important thing today. SAARC is one thing that can the region develop. My university has agreements with 30 universities across the world. But I want to expand these kinds of agreements in South Asia. Why not cooperate with Kotelawala Defence University here in Colombo? I am going to explore how to do this. Exchanges of students and faculty can happen. I am going to visit some other local universities in the next few days, particularly Colombo University. So hopefully we can have some agreements. Faculty here is saying that they don’t have experts to guide PhDs. We can help with that sort of thing.

Q. You’re an expert in developing countries and space law. Can you talk about how Sri Lanka can move forward in space technology and exploration?

A. Though space satellites are huge investments, and this is particularly a problem for developing countries, we now have abundant and excellent resources when it comes to technology. I can tell you one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century was man’s ability to leave this planet, which allowed him to have a complete view from outer space. Today, technology is responsible for everything. If you switch off satellites, every technology that we use stops. They all happen through satellites now.

So what I want is for countries like Sri Lanka to start exploring this technology for the benefit of its citizens. This goes for all countries, both big and small. For instance, when India started its space technology venture, everybody criticised it. They asked why a poor country would put a lot of money into a project like this. But today we are among the best in the world when it comes to remote sensing and launching. We are doing a lot of business activities worth millions of dollars. We are selling remote sensing technology even to developed countries like the United States. We are also launching satellites, not only Indian ones, but also satellites from other countries. India is making a lot of money. Earlier launches were scientific trials, but now commercialisation is happening. We are buying, selling, all this.

But what about the law? I am a space lawyer, what do I have to do with technology? Law follows technology. Technological developments happen and then law follows. I’ll give you one instance. On October 4, 1957, Sputnik I launched successfully. This is considered the beginning of the space era. Now, on November 14, 1957, exactly 40 days later, the UN came out with a resolution on how to use this technology. Law came into being on how countries can use this. Today we are talking about space tourism, space hotels, motels, all these new developments happened within 50 years.

Q. Do you think that these things will happen?

A. So many unimaginable developments have happened in nearly 60 years of space flight. I think these things could happen.

Q. Are you advising the Indian government on space law?

A. Exactly. I am involved. I have been asking the Indian government to set up a legal department. Though India is doing okay, they don’t have a legal department. Do you know the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)? I was advising them that they needed to have their own legal department. They don’t have one. And second, 25 years back, I wrote an article about how India needed space law. Why? Because India is doing commercial activities. Interestingly, my efforts have concretised. The government of India is going to come out with space legislation within two or three months, definitely by the end of this year. And they are taking a lot of my inputs because I have been doing research for 25 years. I studied the space legislation of other countries like the United States. Other legal experts are also involved. I’m one among them. So, we are helping the government to come up with the law. Because you will be in trouble if there is no law and disputes arise. Judges cannot create the law. They only interpret law.

Q. Are international space laws fair to developing countries? Many say that international laws benefit developed countries and make it more difficult for developing countries.

A. It is true with space also. But now things are changing. Earlier it was completely dominated by the developed countries. Now, emerging economies like China, Brazil, and India are coming up. One thing is that every country has to come up. You know when the missile control technology, MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime), they were supposed to supply missiles to India, but because of some political issue, Russia and the United States stopped the sale of the missiles. Then India produced its own. Developing countries have to show that if developed countries don’t supply technology that they can make their own. We are not incapable of doing things. Recently developing countries have been working together, for example at the G20, and this helps poorer countries secure better deals.

Q. What are the biggest challenges facing developing countries that want to enter space?

A. One is finance. There are huge financial requirements. There, developing countries are not doing well because they don’t have finances. One thing is that we can cooperate with developed countries. For instance, the success of India’s space programme depends on cooperation with developed countries. We got help from the USA, Russia, and other countries. Now we are developing our own. The developing countries should start. They cannot think that they cannot do it. They have to start.

Q. Can you explain satellite technology?

A. They help with everything from telecommunications, education, and environmental issues. Today, satellites have helped fishermen. Remote sensing satellites can tell where the fish are. Without technology we are in trouble. Every technology involves space now. You name anything and it’s happening through satellites.

Q. Where do you see the future of space law? Do you see countries trying to colonize the moon?

A. That’s science fiction. People talk about flying flags in space, but that’s the wrong idea. If you want to buy, it should be your own property. But definitely the way technology is improving, I can tell you the last 50 years have seen unimaginable developments. Maybe in the future we will be able to settle on the moon. It’s a matter of time. That is my assessment. Definitely technology is improving. We cannot imagine. Space tourism will probably happen. 50 years ago mankind never thought that we would make it to this point. The probability is there.

Q. Is space law a large field?

A. There are not many space law experts. For example, in India we have more than a billion people. There are hardly any space law experts. We are doing extremely well in technology but not law. Some countries have invested in improving their knowledge of space law, but India has not. Business is increasing and we need to make sure we have good laws. We have done the technology experiments, and we can get benefits from them. When you involve business, litigation will come. When litigation is there, laws are certainly required.

Another interesting thing is space defence. There is a lot of foreign investment in Indian space technology. Earlier, many of these industries were government monopolies. Now, private participation is happening. This is a great change you can see from state-centric monopoly to private participation.

Q. Can you elaborate on the relationship between the private and public sectors when it comes to air and space law?

A. We have to open up space exploration and technology to the private sector because most countries have limited funds. The government can’t fund everything. You need private participation, but you need to set goals. What should the private companies be doing? What should the government be doing? There need to be rules and goals. In India, a lot of privatisation is happening in the aviation sector. A lot of airports and airlines are coming. All over the world, there is 5-6 percent aviation growth per year. In India, we are expecting 20 percent growth because we have more than a billion people. So now we have opened up new airlines and airports with the help of private participation. Until recently, though, we did not have proper laws. Policy came out that helped define the roles of the private and government sectors. Like in space as well, we have to frame rules before inviting private participation. These are our rules and regulations.