한일 양국의 우주물체 회수와 낙하해역의 법적 지위

Abstract

Space launch vehicle issues should be reviewed under international law, including the recovery of propellants, the legal status of the drop area for falling objects, issues of ownership or jurisdiction over space objects, and state responsibility for space activities. If a space object or its component parts falls into intermediate zone or areas considered to be part of Japan’s EEZ, it also raises fundamental questions of law of the sea, including the legal status of the EEZ and Japan’s relevant position. Korea and Japan did not agree on the boundary delimitation of their EEZs in the East Sea and East China Sea, and established two intermediate zones around the Korean peninsula by the 1998 Korea-Japan Fisheries Agreement. The East China Sea intermediate zone is included in the joint development zone on the continental shelf that the two countries agreed to in 1978. Both Korea and Japan should carefully approach the issue of recovering a space object or its component parts so as not to affect boundary delimitation of the area. In this context, this study will examine the joint issues raised by space law and law of the sea. Specifically, it will analyze the law of the sea issues of the drop area of space objects and the integration of space law and municipal law in the registration, control, and regulation of space launch vehicles. The allocation of national jurisdiction is crucial because the ocean and space are areas where international law and municipal law intersect.