A PENDING AMENDMENT TO THE NIGERIAN SPACE FRAMEWORK

Hello and welcome to the blog!

So this is the last post on the 3-Part series on the National space framework in Nigeria.

I would like to thank everyone who shared their thoughts with me. I do this because of you.

                                      

                                          

THE DRAFT REGULATION ON LICENSING AND SUPERVISION OF SPACE ACTIVITIES IN NIGERIA

Although the 2015 draft regulation is still moving through the legislative process, its scope ratione materiae encompasses all “National activities” considered to fall outside the scope of “Space activities” already offered by the Act. It provides substantial clarity on Nigeria's international obligations under the four classic UN Treaties it acceded.

The NASRDA Act which primarily focuses on satellite data (remote sensing) defines “Space activities” subject to its regime to “Include space objects and their control.” Also, the Agency has the authority to grant different forms of authorization for launch-related activities.

The requirements for issuing a license as set out in Section 9 of the Act are also reviewed through the draft Regulations. To this end, the Regulation provided an expanded definition on “Space activity” to include “The operation, guidance, and re-entry of space objects into, in and from outer space and other activities essential for the launch, operation, guidance and re-entry of space objects into, in and from outer space.”

                                          

Subsequent on the draft Regulation, Nigeria joined the likes of Australia, Kazakhstan and Denmark to explicitly define “Outer space” as “Anything beyond 100 km above sea level” and the launch of a space object as launching it “Into an area beyond the distance of 100 km above sea level.”

With regards to third-party liabilities, the Regulation establishes a three-tier system regarding international liability claims for which Nigeria qualifies as a Launching State under the Liability Convention as follows:

“[F]or a first-tier of at least up to US$5,000,000, the insurance of the licensee will reimburse the government; for a second-tier up to a total amount of US$15,000,000 (the first tier included) the government will be entitled to have recourse to the funds of the licensee to the extent available; whereas for a third-tier of any damage above US$15,000,000 the government accepts upfront that the State will carry such liability without recourse to the licensee or his insurance. The Regulation requires that a licensee must provide insurance for damages that may trigger the application of the Liability Convention.  And third, such insurance should at least cover a sum of US$5,000,000.”

                                     

Bearing in mind that Nigeria’s approach to a public-private partnership economic model is still at its developing stage, it is safe to assume that it is due to this consideration that the Nigerian approach to third-party liability claims (as a result of Space activities by a licensed operator) seems to be a rather generous one as the limits imposed are generally at the low end of the scale when compared to some major other spacefaring nations.

Inarguably, the Draft Regulations which are still progressing through the legislative process has a comprehensive guideline as it already provides considerable details on the general approach that Nigeria takes with regards to the implementation of its international obligations under the four classic space Treaties.

In the long run, the 2015 Draft Regulation on Licensing and supervision of Space Activities which seeks to enunciate the Legislation and cure the relevant lacunae is currently reaching the last stage of the legislative process.

I believe that the speeding up of this Legislation by the National Assembly would be the right step, especially at this time.

Thank you for taking out time to read and share this post. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions, do not hesitate to use the comment box.

Please follow my discussions on my LinkedIn account at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayomide-a-jide-omole-062633112 

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. images on the blog are copyright to its respectful owners. if there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you, and you do not wish for it to appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.