Res Communis Humanitatis: Pakistan and the Unwritten Law of the Stars

At first sight, law appears to be closely tethered to Earth. Contracts are signed on paper; torts are carried out on the streets and in workplaces and various crimes are prosecuted within the limits of a state. It thus seems odd to combine legal doctrine with astronomy, a field that deals with celestial bodies millions of miles away from any one country’s authority. But it is one I have been curious about for a while, long before I started studying law. As a child, I used to look up at the night sky and wonder about the little lights moving across it that were clearly not stars, and ask myself a very simple question: who does that satellite belong to? Does it belong to whoever built it, or to a country, or to no one at all?

I never found much written about this intersection, at least not from a Pakistani legal perspective, which is what pushed me to write about it here. Law, however, has never limited itself to matters that happen directly on Earth. As soon as states began launching objects beyond the atmosphere, familiar legal questions followed them. Who owns them? Who is responsible for them? Who is answerable when something goes wrong? These questions become much harder when the object is travelling around the Earth and may have been built in one country, launched from another and operated by a private company somewhere else. This is what makes space law interesting to me. It takes questions that are very familiar in other areas of law and puts them in a setting where the usual boundaries of territory no longer seem so simple.

The basic principle of international space law has some similarity to the Roman law idea of res communis, referring to things which are not subject to the exclusive appropriation of one state. Article I of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies 1967, usually called the Outer Space Treaty, provides that the exploration and use of outer space should be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and describes outer space as the “province of all mankind”. Article II goes further by providing that outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to appropriation by sovereignty, occupation or other means. 

Pakistan became part of this legal regime very early. It signed the Outer Space Treaty on 12 September 1967 and ratified it on 8 April 1968. Pakistan’s involvement with space itself goes back even further. SUPARCO was established in 1961 and Pakistan launched Rehbar-I, its first sounding rocket, in 1962. Dr Abdus Salam was also involved in the early development of Pakistan’s space programme. When I first came across this history, I was surprised by how early Pakistan had entered the field. It is easy to think of space activity in Pakistan as something that started with modern satellites, but the country was already launching rockets when space exploration itself was still in its early years. Pakistan is also a party to the main United Nations treaties governing activities in outer space, including the Outer Space Treaty, the Rescue Agreement, the Liability Convention, the Registration Convention and the Moon Agreement.

This means that Pakistan’s connection with space law is not simply scientific or even political. It has accepted international legal obligations which have existed for many decades. The problem becomes more interesting when these international obligations are compared with Pakistan’s domestic law. When I first started looking into this subject, I assumed that if Pakistan had been involved in space activities since the 1960s, there would be a developed body of domestic space legislation to match it. That turned out to be too simple. Pakistan has had the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission Ordinance 1981 for decades, and it now also has the National Space Policy 2023 and the Pakistan Space Activities Rules 2024. The more difficult question is whether the law now being developed is enough for the type of space activity Pakistan wants to encourage.

The 1972 Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects is particularly important in this regard. It establishes a system under which a launching state is liable for damage caused by its space object on the surface of the Earth or to aircraft in flight. For damage caused elsewhere in outer space, liability depends on fault. The Convention also deals with cases where more than one state is involved in launching a space object. The 1978 Kosmos 954 incident shows why this matters. The Soviet satellite, which carried a nuclear reactor, re-entered the atmosphere and scattered radioactive material over northern Canada. Canada carried out a large recovery operation and later presented a claim to the Soviet Union.

The matter was eventually settled, with the Soviet Union agreeing to pay Canada three million Canadian dollars. The case is often discussed in relation to the Liability Convention because it shows how an object launched by one state can create a legal problem for another state after something goes wrong. I find the principle behind this liability system reasonable. If a state chooses to launch a space object, it seems fair that it should carry a serious responsibility for the damage that object causes. The problem becomes harder when the object is operated by a private company. International law may make Pakistan responsible to another state, but domestic law then must answer a different question. Should the Pakistani Government bear the whole cost, or should it be able to recover that amount from the private company whose activity caused the damage? That is not something the Liability Convention can answer by itself.

The Registration Convention 1975 is connected to this problem. It requires launching states to maintain national registers of space objects and to provide information about those objects to the United Nations. Registration might sound like a technical requirement, but I think it has a much more important purpose. If an object causes damage, someone needs to be able to establish what the object was and which state was responsible for it. Registration therefore becomes part of the system through which responsibility can be traced. Also, Pakistan’s domestic position historically centered on SUPARCO. The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission Ordinance 1981 established SUPARCO as a statutory body with powers to acquire property and bring or defend legal proceedings. The Ordinance was important because it gave Pakistan’s space programme a legal structure.

What it did not do was create the kind of detailed regulatory system that would be needed if many private companies were conducting commercial space activities. This distinction is important because the nature of space activity has changed. SUPARCO was created at a time when Pakistan’s space programme was mainly a state-led scientific and technological programme. The legal questions were therefore different from the ones that arise when private companies begin operating satellites, providing communications services or carrying out other commercial space activities. Once private actors become involved, questions about authorization, registration, liability and supervision become much harder to avoid.

It is important to discuss however that Pakistan has now started addressing this gap. The National Space Policy was approved in 2023 and sets out the development and commercialization of Pakistan’s space sector as one of its aims. The policy also recognizes the need for an appropriate regulatory framework for space activities. Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs describes the policy as focusing on a regulatory framework, public-private partnerships, space education, and international cooperation. The Pakistan Space Activities Rules 2024 were promulgated on 2 February 2024 and provided the legal basis for the Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board, or PSARB, which regulates matters relating to outer space and the upper atmosphere in Pakistan. This is where I think the discussion around Pakistan’s space law needs to be more careful. It is no longer correct to say that Pakistan simply has no space law. It does have rules and it has a regulatory body. What concerns me is that the framework is still being developed while the type of commercial activity it is meant to regulate is already changing.

PSARB itself says that it is in the process of developing the regulatory framework for Pakistan’s space sector. In 2024, it invited consultants to help develop a wider regulatory framework which would attract foreign investment and ensure transparency. In 2025, PSARB stated that the newer Low Earth Orbit satellite systems created regulatory questions which were different from the traditional satellite systems that Pakistan had dealt with for decades. It also began engaging with companies including Starlink, OneWeb and other satellite operators.  This is particularly important because Pakistan is actively trying to encourage private space activity. 

The legal problem therefore becomes much more practical. Suppose a Pakistani company operates a satellite and that satellite causes damage for which Pakistan becomes internationally liable. The Government may have to deal with the claim at the international level, but it would then have to look to domestic law to determine its relationship with the company. Was the company required to carry insurance? If so, was the level of insurance enough for the risk involved? Can the Government recover its losses from the company?

These questions should be dealt with before a serious accident takes place, rather than after it. This is where I think Pakistan can learn from the way other countries have approached the problem. The United Kingdom, for example, has the Outer Space Act 1986, which provides a licensing system and places obligations on operators. The UAE has also developed a dedicated legal framework for its space sector, including Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2023 concerning the regulation of the space sector. The point is not that Pakistan should copy either system word for word. Pakistan has its own institutional and national security concerns. The country is therefore not new to space. The newer part is the very idea of space as a commercial sector in which private companies may operate alongside the State. 

This also makes me question whether SUPARCO should be expected to carry too much of the regulatory burden. SUPARCO has an important role as Pakistan’s National Space Agency, but a scientific institution and a regulatory authority do not necessarily perform the same function. A regulator needs clear rules about authorization, compliance and liability. I would therefore argue that Pakistan should continue developing the framework created by the 2024 Rules and consider whether a dedicated Space Activities Act is now needed. Such an Act would not require Pakistan to invent a new body of international law. The basic principles have existed for decades.

What Pakistan needs is to translate those principles into a domestic system which is clear enough for private operators and strong enough to protect the State and the public when something goes wrong. A Pakistani Space Activities Act could deal with licensing and authorization, registration and the Government’s right of recourse against private operators. It could also clarify the relationship between PSARB, SUPARCO and other bodies involved in areas such as telecommunications and national security. This would make the system easier to understand and would also make it clearer who is responsible for what. The question of insurance is particularly important. If the State is internationally responsible for damage caused by a space object, I find it difficult to justify encouraging private operators without also making sure that the risks created by their activities can be covered. There is also a wider issue of accountability.

As Pakistan’s space sector becomes more commercial, ordinary people will increasingly interact with space technology. Satellite internet, navigation, communications and Earth observation can affect people in very ordinary ways. If a company is allowed to operate in Pakistan, there should be a clear regulatory system through which its activities can be supervised, and legal problems can be addressed. I do not think Pakistan needs to choose between encouraging the private sector and protecting the public. A clear legal framework can make private investment easier because companies know what rules apply to them. If Pakistan wants foreign satellite operators and domestic companies to participate in the sector, it should be able to tell them clearly what they can do, what they cannot do and what will happen if they fail to comply.

This is also why I think the 2024 Rules should be seen as the beginning rather than the end of Pakistan’s space law. PSARB has already acknowledged that the wider regulatory framework is still being developed. In 2025, it entered into a contract with Access Partnership for the development of a comprehensive framework covering areas including satellite communications, Earth observation, positioning, navigation and space transportation. The fact that this work is now taking place is encouraging. It also means that this is a particularly important time to ask what the final framework should look like. Pakistan does not have to wait for a major accident or an international dispute before deciding how liability, insurance and private operators should be dealt with.

I began this article thinking that space law was mainly about objects far beyond Pakistan. I now think the more interesting question is what happens when those objects create legal consequences. Pakistan has been part of international space law for more than half a century. It has also had a space programme for more than sixty years. The recent creation of PSARB and the Pakistan Space Activities Rules 2024 show that the domestic legal system is finally developing alongside the sector itself.

However, the work is not finished. Pakistan is now encouraging the very commercial activity which will make questions of liability, regulation and accountability more important. For Pakistan, the next stage of space exploration may therefore have as much to do with legislation as it does with satellites. The country has already accepted the international obligations. It has started building the domestic regulatory system. The challenge now is to make sure that the two work together before the first serious legal problem forces Pakistan to discover where the gaps are. 

Bibliography

A. Treaties and Conventions

Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (opened for signature 18 December 1979, entered into force 11 July 1984) 1363 UNTS 3.

Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space (opened for signature 22 April 1968, entered into force 3 December 1968) 672 UNTS 119.

Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects (opened for signature 29 March 1972, entered into force 1 September 1972) 961 UNTS 187.

Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space (opened for signature 14 January 1975, entered into force 15 September 1976) 1023 UNTS 15.

Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (opened for signature 27 January 1967, entered into force 10 October 1967) 610 UNTS 205.

B. Legislation and Other Legal Instruments

Pakistan

National Command Authority Act 2010.

Pakistan Space Activities Rules 2024.

Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission Ordinance 1981.

National Space Policy of Pakistan (Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission 2023).

United Arab Emirates

Federal Decree by Law No (46) of 2023 Concerning the Regulation of the Space Sector.

United Kingdom

Outer Space Act 1986.

C. Books and Journal Articles

Mehdi M and Su J, ‘Pakistan Space Programme and International Cooperation: History and Prospects’ (2019) 47 Space Policy 175.

D. Reports, Institutional Publications and Online Sources

International Bar Association, ‘Space Laws of Pakistan: A Need for Domestic Legislation’ (14 September 2023).

Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board, ‘Hiring of Regulatory Consultant by PSARB’ (6 March 2025).

Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board, ‘Information on Space Sector Regulations in Pakistan’ (28 January 2025).

Pakistan Space Activities Regulatory Board, ‘Provisional Registration for Starlink’ (22 March 2025).

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Status of International Agreements Relating to Activities in Outer Space.

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, United Nations Treaties and Principles on Outer Space.

E. Newspaper Articles

‘Federal Cabinet Approves Pakistan’s First-Ever National Space Policy’ Dawn (13 December 2023).