A guest lecture session on Space Law for the LL.B students of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) was held on 7th of August 2014. The guest lecturer was Mr. Rathnaweera Nawinne , Legal Advisor (Aviation) of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dubai. Formerly he was a Senior State Counsel at the Attorney General’s Department and then Legal Advisor and Head, Human Resources Department at RAK Airways, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. He obtained LL.M. from Leiden University, Netherlands in the area of Air and Space Law. Deputy Vice Chancellor (Defence and Administration) Brigadier Lal Gunasekara and members of Academic Staff of the Faculty of Law were also present in the occasion.
The main objective of this guest lecture was to give the participants who already had a basic knowledge of different aspects of Space Law, an opportunity to update themselves on the current trends and latest developments of law.
The lecturer discussed the five treaties that from the framework of International Space Law. Those treaties are:
- The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the “Outer Space Treaty”), adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2222 (XXI), opened for signature on 27 January 1967, entered into force on 10 October 1967;
- The Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (the “Rescue Agreement”), adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2345 (XXII), opened for signature on 22 April 1968, entered into force on 3 December 1968;
- The Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (the “Liability Convention”), adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 2777 (XXVI), opened for signature on 29 March 1972, entered into force on 1 September 1972;
- The Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (the “Registration Convention”), adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 3235 (XXIX), opened for signature on 14 January 1975, entered into force on 15 September 1976;
- The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (the “Moon Agreement”), adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 34/68, opened for signature on 18 December 1979, entered into force on 11 July 1984.
He also discussed the applicability of Space Law in domestic situations, especially in USA, Sweden, China, India and Sri Lanka with particular reference to the common heritage of mankind and proportionality principle. Finally the lecturer discussed the future threats and possibilities in protecting the space globally.
