The Rescue Agreement 1968Hadi R Purnama

IntroductionThe Rescue Agreement was considered and negotiated by the Legal Subcommittee from 1962 to 1967. Consensus agreement was reached in the General Assembly in 1967 (resolution 2345 (XXII)), and the Agreement entered into force in December 1968.

The Agreement, elaborating on elements of articles 5 and 8 of the Outer Space Treaty, provides that States shall take all possible steps to rescue and assist astronauts in distress and promptly return them to the launching State, and that States shall, upon request, provide assistance to launching States in recovering space objects that return to Earth outside the territory of the Launching State.

As of 1 January 2011, 91 States have ratified, 24 have signed the Rescue Agreement and one international intergovernmental organization (European Space Agency) has declared its acceptance of the rights and obligations provided for in this Agreement

Article V

States Parties to the Treaty shall regard and shall render to them all possible assistance in the event of accident, distress, or emergency landing on the territory of another State Party or on the high seas. When astronauts make such a landing, they shall be safely and promptly returned to the State of registry of their space vehicle. , the astronauts of one State Party shall render all possible assistance to the astronauts of other States Parties. States Parties to the Treaty shall immediately inform the other States Parties to the Treaty or the Secretary-General of the United Nations of any phenomena they discover in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, which could constitute a danger to the life or health of astronauts.

Article IEach Contracting Party which receives information or discovers that the personnel of a spacecraft have suffered accident or are experiencing conditions of distress or have made an emergency or unintended landing in territory under its jurisdiction or on the high seas or in any other place not under the jurisdiction of any State shall immediately:(a) notify the launching authority or, if it cannot identify and immediately communicate with the launching authority, immediately make a public announcement by all appropriate means of communication at its disposal;

(b) notify the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who should disseminate the information without delay by all appropriate means of communication at his disposal.

Article II and III deal with practical measures aimed at rescuing and helping the crew. Art. 2 If assistance by the launching authority would help to effect a prompt rescue or would contribute substantially to the effectiveness of search and rescue operations, the launching authority shall co- operate with the Contracting Party with a view to the effective conduct of search and rescue operations.

The assistance must be renderedArt. II:accident, distress, emergency or unintended landing, the personnel of a spacecraft land in territory under the jurisdiction of a Contracting Party Landing on the high seas or any other place not coming under the jurisdiction of a State.

Salvaging situationAfter an accident or incident has occurred where by they are forced to come down on land or high seasAfter an accident in space or on a celestial body

Art. IVany State, they shall be safely and promptly returned to representatives of the launching authority. Art. V (1)receives information or discovers that a space object or its component parts has returned to Earth in territory under its jurisdiction or on the high seas or in any other place not under the jurisdiction of any State, shall notify the launching authority and the Secretary- General of the United Nations.

Launching AuthorityArt. VI :the term "launching authority" shall refer to the State responsible for launching, or, where an international intergovernmental organization is responsible for launching, that organization, provided that organization declares its acceptance of the rights and obligations provided for in this Agreement and .

The issues which not covered by the AgreementExpenditureTypes of accident the spacecraft personnel must have sufferedThe conditions of distress they must have experiencedThe kinds of emergency landings they must have made.

CASE of COSMOS 954Cosmos 954Canada v. USSRCosmos 954 registered to the USSRCosmos 954 was fallen over the territory of CanadaIssue on:The duty to ForewarnThe duty to Provide InformationThe duty to Clean upThe duty to Compensate for injury

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