You can explore but never own

Where ever mankind may go, lawyers are quick to follow - and there is one Sri Lankan attorney among them

by Aditha Dissanayake

Will there be divorce laws on Mars? How will we interact with extraterrestrials if we ever meet them? Should we privatize the craters on the moon?

Even though I am dying to ask these questions when I meet Dr. Nandasiri Jasentuliyana recently I hold my counsel, mainly because with living in the moon still a distant dream, a question about making the best use of its craters seem premature.

So, as I wait for my appointment with him I decide to begin the interview with a simple question, what is space law? And as the digits on the clock on my mobile changes rapidly with Dr. Jasentuliyana yet to make an appearance, I recall reading about a space lawyer called what's his name who had not only claimed he owned the sun but declared he was not liable for any damages caused by his property!

Then on the internet I had come across the three Yemeni brothers who had filed suit against the United States for trespassing in 1993. The property in question? The planet Mars. The brothers claimed to have inherited the planet 3,000 years ago from their ancestors.

The US sent attorneys to Yemen to fight the charges. Then again, there is the website called The Lunar Embassy, a US-based company who offers interested buyers one acre of lunar property for $49.99!

Can we earthlings grant rights to property in space? By the time Dr. Jasentuliyana reaches me I have two questions waiting for him to be answered. But not so fast. First he has a lot of catching up to do.

Having lived abroad for the greater part of his life, he has questions of his own to ask me. Where is H.L.D Mahindapala now? Is Lalith Edrisinghe still at the Sunday Observer? When I have finally brought him up to date with the events of the past few years, he says "Ok. Go ahead".

What is space law? Dr. Jasentuliyana repeats the question, rolling it on his tongue as if he is tasting a piece of chocolate brought from Jupiter. Then comes the answer "Space law is no different to any other law. It is similar to international law." In short space law simply means keeping order in space.

As the President of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) Dr. Jasentuliyana, who happens to be one of those "space lawyers" who has studied the exploration of outer space with careful intent says he was lucky to have joined the United Nations as a young man in 1964 when these laws were being negotiated.

According to Dr. Jasentuliyana the main purpose of space law is to preserve outer space from the lawless free-for-all that characterized exploration and colonization here on Earth. "In the past you claimed a piece of land as your own by hoisting your flag on it.

Your flag meant you had total control. This does not apply to outer space. Space is the province of mankind. No country can claim it. You can explore, but never own".

In order to ensure that space remains a "common thing," space lawyers have drafted five international treaties under UN direction. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 provides the basis of all space law with its clear decree that no nation can claim ownership to any part of it, and all nations must agree to its peaceful use. The treaty was signed by all major space powers and remains the guiding light of space initiatives.

"The treaty ensured that the rivalries on earth will not be extended to space" says Dr. Jasentuliyana and recalls that when the United Nations initiated the drafting of space law of which he was lucky to be a witness, it was rather overwhelming.

There had been many forces, scientists, engineers, governments and the United Nations all of whom had come together to make sure space will be used for the benefit of mankind.

A few of those same forces had also pitched into debates over asteroid ownership and guidelines for approaching extraterrestrials and Dr. Jasentuliyana says there is a protocol to adhere to, if ever we come across extraterrestrials.

But beyond this, no laws have been formed with regard to living beings we might encounter in outer space.

Today, having retired from the main stream of space law Dr. Jasentuliyana says he has left the rest to the younger generations. Letting "life for ever dying,(to slightly misquote H.G Wells) to be born afresh, to stand upon this earth as upon a footstool, and stretch out its realm amidst the stars.

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