 International liability arises when a state injures an entity beyond its jurisdiction through

an act that is not internationally wrongful1

 This rule is an offshoot of state responsibility,2 which forbids states from actively harming

their neighbors and requires states to prevent harm in neighboring territories.3

 The treatise made states responsible for damage because states had deep enough coffers to

pay the extraordinary costs for a space-related disaster.4

 If a state is held liable for damage, it must pay compensation for that damage.5

 Article III provides for fault liability for damage caused elsewhere or to persons or property

on board a space object.6

 The Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention are lex specialis developed to deal

exclusively with space liability claims, those treaties should provide the only remedy for

claims for damage by space objects.7

 When damage is caused elsewhere than on the surface of the Earth by a space object of one

launching State to the space object of another launching State or the persons or property

on board such space object, the liability of the State is based on fault, i.e only if the damage

is due to its fault or the fault of persons for whom it is responsible. In space, all Parties in

the position to operate a space object are meant to be acting on an equal footing, to have

the technology to be able to bring the proof of the fault, and in any case to have assumed

1
CRAWFORD
2
Special Rapporteur, Preliminary Report on the International Liability for Injurious Consequences Arising Out of
Acts Not Prohibited by International Law, 11 19-21, U.N. Doc. A/CN.4/344 (1980).
3
Trail Smelter Arbitration (U.S. v. Can.), 3 R.I.A.A. 1938, 1963-65 (Trail Smelter Arb. Trib. 1938 & 1941); Corfu
Channel (U.K. v. Alb.), 1949 I.C.J. 4, 22 (Apr. 9).
4
Carl Q. Christol, International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, 74 AM. J. INT'L L. 346, 361 (1980).
5
6
Article III moon treaty
7
CRAWFORD
 the risks of conducting these activities: none should be a privileged victim. This is the

reasoning behind the establishment of a fault based liability in these cases. 8

 Although some space objects can neither be tracked nor moved, states are more likely to

be able to avoid damage.9

 To establish liability through space law, a claimant must show (1) that the space object

belongs to the responsible state and (2) the damage was "caused by" that space object10

 The "reasonableness" of a state's action, on the other hand, is predicated on the

foreseeability of the damage.11

 "caused by" language in the Liability Convention merely requires a connection between

the accident and the damage.12

8
VALÉRIE KAYSER, LAUNCHING SPACE OBJECTS: ISSUES OF LIABILITY AND FUTURE PROSPECTS 51 (2004)
9
BRUCE A. HURWITZ, STATE LIABILITY FOR OUTER SPACE ACTIVITIES 1-3 (1992)
10
NANDASIRI JASENTULIYANA, INTERNATIONAL SPACE LAW AND THE UNITED NATIONS 321 325-26 (1999)
11
CARL Q. CHRISTOL, MODERN INTERNATIONAL LAW OF OUTER SPACE 96 (1982).
12
Id.