On 16 December, the Italian Chambers of Deputies hosted the event Una Legge italian per lo Spazio organised by Fondazione Leonardo – Civiltà delle Macchine, Sapienza Università di Roma and SDA Bocconi.
The need for a national law on outer space activities in compliance with the treaties concluded by the State is maturing in Italy.
The OSL Team Sapienza has been working for years, with commitment, to build a specific competence on space law and it is regarded as a reference point at the national level, and specifically, on the subject of national space legislation. The participation of Professor Sergio Marchisio at the event on 16 December, as well as the research activities conducted within a joint project with Fondazione Leonardo, consecrates the recognition of this competence.
The session was opened by Lorenzo Fontana, President of the Chamber, Luciano Violante, President of Fondazione Leonardo-CDM, and followed by interventions by the Ministers Adolfo Urso and Guido Crosetto, as well as the President of Leonardo Luciano Carta.
After the speech by Simonetta Di Pippo on space economic trends, Sergio Marchisio presented the legal framework and the main elements to be considered when adopting national space legislation.
Marchisio first highlighted that the fundamental principles enshrined in the OST, such as the freedom of exploration and use of outer space, the freedom of access to celestial bodies and scientific research, as well as the prohibition of national appropriation, continue to constitute the fundamental pillars of the international legal regime for space activities. In this context, Article VI of the OST, under which States bear international responsibility for all their national activities in space, whether carried out by governmental agencies or private entities, is to be regarded as the cornerstone of this international legal regime.
Accordingly, the need to define rules at the domestic level is based on the obligation of the States to authorize and continuously supervise the activities of private operators.
Furthermore, Marchisio noted that the upcoming missions are opening new horizons for humanity in space, such as plans for the return to the Moon and for a permanent human presence on celestial bodies. In the same way, new space applications, such as in-orbit services, active removal of space debris, extraction of mineral resources, mega constellations of small satellites and space tourism deserve appropriate regulation also through a domestic legal framework that moves from a full implementation of international obligations and promotes the sustainable commercialization of space activities in the interest of the community.
In this line, Marchisio underlined the importance of adopting an Italian law on space activities for the full implementation of international obligations and, moreover, to foster consistency and predictability of the legal system with a view to promoting private space activities.
Then, the roundtable moderated by Alessandro Paino, featured interventions by Davde Cipelletti, Stefania Craxi, Alberto Luigi Gusmeroli, Luigi Pasquali, Giorgio Saccoccia. The roundtable was preceded by the remarks of Andrea Prencipe and concluded by Alessandro Profumo.
All participants unanimously emphasized the opportunity for Italy to adopt a national space law, bringing about food for thought from different sectors, including the government, industry, and the university.
Watch the full event here: https://lnkd.in/di2K5ccR
