Who Owns the Geostationary Orbit?

ABSTRACT

From 29 November to 3 December 1976, the equatorial states of Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Congo, Zaire, Uganda, Kenya, and Indonesia met in Bogotá, Colombia "with the purpose of studying the geostationary orbit that corresponds to their national terrestrial, sea, and insular territory and considered as a natural resource." Gabon and Somalia, also equatorial states, were not present. The "Declaration of the First Meeting of Equatorial Countries," also known as the Bogotá Declaration, was adopted on 3 December 1976. The declaration claimed the right of equatorial states to exercise national sovereignty over the arcs of the geostationary orbit (GSO) that are directly over their territories. This claim is in apparent contravention to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which states that "outer space... is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty." However, the Bogotá Declaration asserts that "there is no valid or satisfactory definition of outer space," and that the GSO "must not be considered part of the outer space." The legal status of the GSO is tied to the controversy over a legal definition of outer space. Both issues have been debated in the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) or its Legal Subcommittee for four decades, and they remain on the agenda. Gbenga Oduntan observes that the Bogotá Declaration:

...is quite unpopular among non-equatorial states and the majority of Space lawyers and it is especially unacceptable to the Space Powers. But again this is no compelling argument why the claims under it must be dropped. Therefore, it is still necessary to locate the real reason why the declaration cannot stand (Oduntan 2003, 78).

This paper argues reasons why the Bogotá Declaration cannot stand, on the basis of orbital mechanics, analogies to Earthly claims of national sovereignty, the international customary law of outer space, and the language of outer space treaties.