Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects

Article XVI. 1. If one of the parties does not make its appointment
within the stipulated period, the Chairman shall, at the request of the
other party, constitute a single-member Claims Commission.

2. Any vacancy which may arise in the Commission for whatever reason
shall be filled by the same procedure adopted for the original
appointment.

3. The Commission shall determine its own procedure.

4. The Commission shall determine the place or places where it shall
sit and all other administrative matters.

5. Except in the case of decisions and awards by a single-member
Commission, all decision and awards of the Commission shall be by
majority vote.

Article XVII. No increase in the membership of the Claims Commission
shall take place by reason of two or more claimant States or launching
States being joined in any one proceeding before the Commission. The
claimant States so joined shall collectively appoint one member of the
Commission in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as would
be the case for a single claimant State. When two or more launching
States are so joined, they shall collectively appoint one member of the
Commission in the same way. If the claimant States or the launching
States do not make the appointment within the stipulated period, the
Chairman shall constitute a single-member Commission.

Article XVIII. The Claims Commission shall decide the merits of the claim
for compensation and determine the amount of compensation payable, if
any.

Article XIX. 1. The Claims Commission shall act in accordance with the
provisions of Article XII.

2. The decision of the Commission shall be final and binding if the
parties have so agreed; otherwise the Commission shall render a final and
recommendatory award, which the parties shall consider in good faith. The
Commission shall state the reasons for its decision or award.

3. The Commission shall give its decision or award as promptly as
possible and no later than one year from the date of its establishment,
unless an extension of this period is found necessary by the Commission.

4. The Commission shall make its decision or award public. It shall
deliver a certified copy of its decision or award to each of the parties
and to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article XX. The expenses in regard to the Claims Commission shall be
borne equally by the parties, unless otherwise decided by the Commission.

Article XXI. If the damage caused by a space object presents a
large-scale danger to human life or seriously interferes with the living
conditions of the population or the functioning of vital centres, the
States Parties, and in particular the launching State, shall examine the
possibility of rendering appropriate and rapid assistance to the State
which has suffered the damage, when it so requests. However, nothing in
this Article shall affect the rights or obligations of the States Parties
under this Convention.

Article XXII. 1. In this Convention, with the exception of Articles XXIV
to XXVII, references to States shall be deemed to apply to any
international intergovernmental organisation which conducts space
activities if the organisation declares its acceptance of the rights and
obligations provided for in this Convention and if a majority of the
States members of the organisation are State Parties to this Convention
and to the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the
Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other
Celestial Bodies.

2. States members of any such organisation which are States Parties
to this Convention shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that the
organisation makes a declaration in accordance with the preceding
paragraph.

3. If an international intergovernmental organisation is liable for
damage by virtue of the provisions of this Convention, that organisation
and those of its members which are States Parties to this Convention
shall be jointly and severally liable; provided, however, that:

(a) any claim for compensation in respect of such damage shall be first
presented to the organisation;

(b) only where the organisation has not paid, within a period of six
months, any sum agreed or determined to be due as compensation for
such damage, may the claimant State invoke the liability of the
members which are States Parties to this Convention for the payment
of that sum.

4. Any claim, pursuant to the provisions of this Convention, for
compensation in respect of damage caused to an organisation which has
made a declaration in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article shall
be presented by a State member of the organisation which is a State Party
to this Convention.

Article XXIII. 1. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect
other international agreements in force in so far as relations between
the States Parties to such agreements are concerned.

2. No provision of this Convention shall prevent States from
concluding international agreements reaffirming, supplementing or
extending its provisions.

Article XXIV. 1. This Convention shall be open to all States for
signature. Any State which does not sign this Convention before its entry
into force in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article may accede to
it at any time.

2. This Convention shall be subject to ratification by signatory
States. Instruments of ratification and instruments of accession shall be
deposited with the Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United
States of America, which are hereby designated the Depositary
Governments.

3. This Convention shall enter into force on the deposit of the fifth
instrument of ratification.

4. For States whose instruments of ratification or accession are
deposited subsequent to the entry into force of this Convention, it shall
enter into force on the date of the deposit of their instruments of
ratification or accession.

5. The Depositary Governments shall promptly inform all signatory and
acceding States of the date of each signature, the date of deposit of
each instrument of ratification of and accession to this Convention, the
date of its entry into force and other notices.

6. This Convention shall be registered by the Depositary Governments
pursuant to Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations .

Article XXV. Any State Party to this Convention may propose amendments to
this Convention. Amendments shall enter into force for each State Party
to the Convention accepting the amendments upon their acceptance by a
majority of the States Parties to the Convention and thereafter for each
remaining State Party on the date of acceptance by it.

Article XXVI. Ten years after the entry into force of this Convention,
the question of the review of this Convention shall be included in the
provisional agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in order to
consider, in the light of past application of the Convention, whether it
requires revision. However, at any time after the Convention has been in
force for five years, and at the request of one third of the States
Parties to the Convention, and with the concurrence of the majority of
the States Parties, a conference of the States Parties shall be convened
to review this Convention.

Article XXVII. Any State Party to this Convention may give notice of its
withdrawal from the Convention one year after its entry into force by
written notification to the Depositary Governments. Such withdrawal shall
take effect one year from the date of receipt of this notification.

Article XXVIII. This Convention, of which the English, Russian, French,
Spanish and Chinese texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in
the archives of the Depositary Governments. Duly certified copies of this
Convention shall be transmitted by the Depositary Governments to the
Governments of the signatory and acceding States.

In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorized thereto, have signed
this Convention.

Done in triplicate, at the cities of London, Moscow and Washington, this
twenty-ninth day of March, one thousand nine hundred and seventy-two.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Charter of the United Nations, Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon.