Canadian astronauts who commit crimes on the moon could be punished under a new law that expands the country’s criminal jurisdiction in outer space.
The Civil Moon Portal Implementation Act is a piece of legislation added to the country’s 2022 federal budget, which passed first reading in Canada’s House of Commons – the lower house of parliament – in late April.
It covers the Moon itself, as well as the proposed Lunar Gateway, which NASA says will play a “vital role” in transporting humans to Mars.
Canada has joined the US-led Lunar Gateway project in 2019 and plans to provide the station with an 8.5-meter robotic arm called Canadarm3.
The new law, which is being scrutinized by parliamentarians, essentially extends Canadian space law, which means that anything that would be illegal in Canada will become illegal aboard a spacecraft traveling to the Moon Portal, the portal itself and the the surface of the moon.
It also raises the possibility that, so far, from a legal point of view, Canadian astronauts in orbit have been free to carry out zero-gravity acts of theft or violence against their fellow spacecraft.
How does space law work?
The only current long-term habitat outside of the human world, the International Space Station (ISS), has found a way around the issue of deciding which laws apply in space.
In 1998, the parties to the ISS signed an agreement giving them criminal jurisdiction over their own citizens while at the station. Simply put, each country’s land law applies to the ISS.
Nations also retain control over the elements of the station they contribute to, such as laboratories. In the case of the European Space Agency (ESA), the laws of the individual European countries participating in the agency apply.
“This legal regime recognizes the jurisdiction of the partner countries’ courts and allows the application of national laws in areas such as criminal matters, liability issues and the protection of intellectual property rights,” the ESA’s guide to the legal framework behind the ISS said.
In addition to the ISS agreement, the 1967 UN Treaty on Outer Space, based on space law, sets out some general rules for space exploration.
It includes a commitment to use the moon and other celestial objects for “extremely peaceful purposes” and says no country on Earth can claim outer space.
The first space crime
The issue of space law became a live topic in August 2019, when American astronaut Anne McClain was accused of committing what could be the first space crime.
McClain’s estranged wife, Summer Warden, claims that the NASA astronaut gained unauthorized access to her bank accounts while in orbit around the Earth, although Warden was later accused of fabricating the charges.
But as far as space crimes are concerned, it was relatively simple from a legal point of view.
In a 2019 article, McGill University professor Ram Jackhu said that because McClain and Warden were US citizens, the crime was allegedly committed in a US module of the ISS and affected property held in the US. it is clear that US law will apply.
However, as the amount of human activity in space increases, he said, the nature of space crime could become more complex – and require a more complex solution.
“As humanity approaches the time when humans can realistically live and work in space, an international centralized space management system will be needed to bring all nations, individuals and institutional actors involved in the use of space under a common legal system. and jurisdiction, ”Jahu writes. .
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