Limitations in the airspace sovereignty of states in connection with space activity

In: Security & defence quarterly, Volume 20, Issue 3, p. 42-56

Open Access

Abstract

The launch of the Soviet Sputnik in 1957 resulted in the emergence of two legal concepts concerning spacefl ight. The first of them concerned harmless passage through airspace subjected to the sovereignty of states, the second - recognition that at the height of the trajectory of a passage, space is no longer subject to the sovereignty of states (res omnium communis). In both cases, we are dealing with limiting the sovereignty of states. These issues have not been resolved to this day. The practice of spacefl ight has confirmed the freedom of spaceflight, although it has not resolved the issue of the upper limit of airspace. It is worth emphasising, however, that the decisive factor for the development of space law was the customary law that arose in 1957, because states did not protest and tacitly accepted the principle of a harmless flight.