International Laws on Air and Space Rights

An Air India flight from Mumbai to London crosses the airspace of Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and more before it reaches Europe, and each of those states can say yes or no. Higher up, a satellite launched from Sriharikota circles the earth over every country and no one can stop it. Why is the sky just above your head controlled by the state below, while the space a few hundred kilometres higher is free? This topic explains where the law draws that line and what rules govern each side of it.

In two minutes

States have complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above their territory, regulated by the 1944 Chicago Convention, while outer space is free for exploration and use by all states, is not open to national appropriation, and is governed by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and four later space treaties.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Public International Law on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.