Legal Framework

The Manual will be mindful of the recent evolution of space law-making processes. Recent decades have seen a shift from international hard law making in the form of the five United Nations (UN) treaties during the so called first phase of space law-making, to the newest developments that showed the adoption of international soft law (such as UN General Assembly resolutions) and national space legislative acts during the second and third phase of normative space processes. It will furthermore be aware of the dangers of a fragmentation process and take into account existing source material. It will furthermore be ever mindful and supportive of the supreme function of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) as the primary forum for state interaction in space affairs.