Prospects for the Arbitration of Disputes in Public – Private Space Projects

Abstract

International law exists for several purposes including the provision of principles and modalities governing peaceful settlement of disputes. Whilst utilization of outer space continues to have a transformational impact on humankind, the emergence of a global space industry can be attributed to increased involvement by private enterprise in outer space ventures, traditionally conducted by States through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP's), amongst other business ventures. PPP's raise a variety of interesting and important questions of a legal nature including the settlement of disputes if and when they do arise. Noting that arbitration is increasingly used for settling disputes, under privately financed infrastructure projects, alongside the fact that international arbitration has evolved as the preferred method for resolving disputes arising from cross-border investments, particularly those involving States, this chapter addresses prospects for arbitration of disputes relating to outer space activities, arising from PPP's. This chapter examines particular characteristics of existing arrangements for dispute settlement in PPP's, identifying gaps if any, and justifies a proposal for pragmatic solutions, relying on the Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Outer Space, adopted in 2011 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.