E7.1 International Cooperation Mechanisms in Outer Space Activities for the Next Decade

This keynote presents lessons learned from various international space cooperation mechanisms including scientific exploration, space application, commercial activities and security-related activities. Research covers bilateral, multilateral, regional and UN-based cooperative measures. Best practices seem to indicate that bilateral cooperation accomplishes its goals when appropriate implementing arrangements are made based on the already-existed framework agreements, and a big multilateral project would be successful through the combination of a legally binding instrument and several types of non-legally binding instruments. The legally binding instrument in a big project seems to correspond to the implementing arrangement in case of bilateral cooperation mechanisms in nature. This implies that a framework agreement does not yet exist in multilateral exploration project. Thus, this presentation will submit a model framework agreement in a next decade multilateral exploration project as a food for thought to promote faster and facilitated cooperation.

Setsuko AOKI

Professor of Law, Keio University Law School

Japan

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