United NationsOffice for Outer Space Affairs

The Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space

Overview:

The present web page contains a collection of official records of negotiations for The Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Uses of Outer Space (General Assembly resolution 1962 (XVIII) of 13 December 1963).

The documentation is organized by series symbol, and within each series, it is listed chronologically, covering the years from 1958 to 1963, inclusive. A spreadsheet version of the list of sources is available here, enabling the user to sort the documents by date or by document symbol.

An explanation of these symbols is available here.

How to Use the Tool:

Many documents are reproduced in the reports of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Legal Subcommittee. In these instances the spreadsheet indicates which documents are reproduced and in which report.

The hyperlink on the page dedicated to an individual legal instrument brings the user to the reports, each of which contains internal bookmarks that direct the user to the location of the relevant documents within the report.

Disclaimer:

This collection of documents is a work in progress. For those documents that are not yet available on the website, the hyperlink to the PDF will not be active.

As of July 2014, documents relevant to the following United Nations Treaties and Principles on Outer Space are available online:

• Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies;
• Agreement on the Rescue of Astronauts, the Return of Astronauts, and the Return of Objects Launched into Outer Space;
• Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects;
• Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space; and
• Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space.

Currently, the Office for Outer Space Affairs is making only English language versions of these documents available. Due to technical reasons, some documents may have missing pages or have sections that are illegible. As work progresses, the Office will endeavor to improve the quality of the scanned documents.