Geostationary Belt – State’s Territory or Province of Mankind?

Abstract

The geostationary orbit is a special area in outer space. Because of its distinctive characteristics, it has constantly been the subject of economic and political desirability. Space powers, taking advantage of their technological superiority and rules applied by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) retained a privileged position. Developing countries, responding to this state of affairs, have taken a number of measures to improve their positions. Some of them posed a challenge to the main regulation of space law (Bogotá declaration was an attempt to exercise a national sovereignty over the segments of the geostationary orbit), some are based on the use of the legal gaps in ITU regulations. Given these circumstances, the specific case of geostationary belt contributes to the debate on the regulations governing space exploration.