Director: Kinji Akashi (Professor, Faculty of Law)
Main Campus: Mita
Center Overview
Based on a 1959 United Nations resolution, space law (the five UN treaties on outer space), primarily developed by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), is the body of international law governing outer space and its use. In anticipation of the future expansion of space activities and the further promotion of related technological development and commercialization, a group of researchers at Keio University specializing in space law (including Kinji Akashi, Professor at the Faculty of Law, and Setsuko Aoki, Professor at the Faculty of Policy Management) has taken the lead, with the cooperation of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), to establish an interdisciplinary, start-up-style research hub: the Center for Space Law.
The objectives of its establishment are: (1) to address various issues through the examination of space activities from a legal perspective, (2) to raise the standard of space law research in Japan, (3) to contribute to the training of practitioners and researchers in the field of space law, and (4) to contribute to capacity-building in the field of space law in Asia.
Keywords and Main Research Themes
Space Law, United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Space Activities Law
2013 Fiscal Year Activity Report
■ Implementation Status of the Fiscal Year's Business Plan, Research Outcomes, and Degree of Achievement
At the beginning of the 2013 fiscal year, research was planned on the following four topics.
Examination of legal issues concerning mitigation measures for space debris, including its removal without the consent of the launching state.
Preliminary research on the "Review of international cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space" and the "Exchange of information on non-legally binding United Nations instruments on outer space," to be considered by the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).
Examination of the relationship between government procurement related to space activities and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and its legal issues.
Examination of various legal issues concerning the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (GNSS). In addition to the above, the following two topics were added as research subjects during the fiscal year.
Namely:
Examination of various legal issues associated with suborbital flights.
Research on promoting the industrialization of space activities.
Certain results have been achieved for all of the above issues, and some of these will be presented at the "4th Space Law Symposium" scheduled for March 5, 2014.
■ Number of Published Papers (with counts and names of major journals), Number of Conference Presentations (domestic and international), and Record of Social Contributions such as Events (date, location)
The Center hosted the following opportunities for research presentations and lectures by invited experts.
March 6, 2013: 2nd Space Law Symposium
November 5, 2013: 3rd Space Law Symposium
March 5, 2014: 4th Space Law Symposium (scheduled)
Additionally, the Center hosted the 22nd Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition Asia-Pacific Regional Round on June 1-2, 2013.
Furthermore, the "Space Law Handbook," supervised and edited by the Center, was published in April 2013.
■ Special Achievements through Center Activities
As the research collaboration system with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and external researchers was expanded from the previous fiscal year, other research topics were established and undertaken in addition to the research activities originally planned for this fiscal year. The Center also provided various opportunities for research presentations and lectures, and published the "Space Law Handbook." Over two years, we have achieved more than initially planned, and we believe that as our research has deepened, we have also been able to identify further research challenges.
Project Members
Principal Investigator
Kinji Akashi
ProfessorDepartment of Law, Faculty of LawSetsuko Aoki
ProfessorFaculty of Policy Management