Problems Related to “Change of Ownership“ with Respect to Registration - The Industry View - Kay-Uwe Hörl & Kamlesh Gungaphul EADS Astrium GmbH Project 2001 Plus Friday 21st January 2005

Outline  Introduction  Objectives of the Convention  Relevance of the Convention to industry  Problems related to a change of ownership  Examples  Recommendations & Conclusion

Introduction  From public to private space activities  From on-ground delivery to IOD & turn-key systems  From satellite manufacturing to provider models  From public service provision to PPPs  From one satellite to constellations  From undercapacity to a marketplace for satellites

Objectives of the Convention 1. To make provisions for the national registration 2. An international register to be established 3. To provide additional means and procedures to assist in the identification of space objects 4. To attribute jurisdiction & control to the State of registry  This would contribute to the application & development of international law

Relevance of the Convention to industry  To make provisions for the national registration  Industry follows national law  National implementation of the Convention  “International” space companies still subject to different national laws & procedure  Range from license requirements for early activities to post-launch obligation to register  Harmonization – at least in Europe – is desirable

Relevance of the Convention to industry cont. 2. An international register to be established  Industry needs reliable and complete information about other space systems  Mission planning & injection orbits - to avoid collisions and frequency interference  Art. IV (1) information does not suffice  Provision of additional information according to Art. IV (2) would be necessary  Reliance on ITU and NORAD data instead

Relevance of the Convention to industry cont.  To provide additional means and procedures to assist in the identification of space objects  Possible role to verify ITU information – purpose of identification  Verify ownership if registered  In that case, a link to the UNIDROIT register could be established

Relevance of the Convention to industry cont. 4. To attribute jurisdiction and control to the State of registry  Allows determination of applicable law  Potential influence on business decisions  Concept of jurisdiction & control becomes problematic (e.g. international organizations)  Implication of State not accepting status of “State of registry” (e.g. Inmarsat)

Problems related to a change of ownership  Reasons for changes include changed public procurement schemes (PPP), privatization and business consequences (sale, bankruptcy)  In case of IOD, license may have to be updated from LEOP to operations  In the absence of license requirement for manufacturer, registration obligation shifted to customer – has to obtain other licenses as well (frequencies, operations, construction permits etc)

Examples  Germany: SatCom Bw  Germany would be launching State under Art. I (a) (i) and should register  Sale or Provider Model is perceivable  Post launch registration with the aviation authorities (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) which forwards this information to the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt)  Via diplomatic channels, information is sent to OOSA

Examples  U.K.: Skynet IV & V  UK is launching State under Art. I (a) (i)  BNSC license for manufacturer is necessary for IOD to Paradigm  Paradigm needs license to operate  Change of ownership necessitates new license

Recommendations  To achieve objectives of the Convention a wide but sensitive interpretation in light of all space treaties is recommended  It should be clarified what the expectations for the national and international registers are – to have a comprehensive compilation or also practically relevant information for mission planning, accident investigation etc.  For the sake of completeness and reliability, cross checks with other UN sources (e.g. ITU) should be explored  International framework sufficient and therefore more States should become Party  States to use national legislation to implement the requirements of the Convention

Conclusion  Compatibility of Convention provisions with transfer of ownership – no need to revise the Convention  Better compliance with the Convention will circumvent potential problems arising from change of ownership  The Convention can contribute to the application and development of international law

Thank you