On the Legal Framework of the International Space Station and Lawmaking for International Space Cooperation

Intergovernmental Agreement of the International Space Station established the legal framework for ISS, the largest space cooperation in the human history. The law of ISS complies with the principles and provisions of the existing five UN outer space treaties. It also developed the outer space law by the cross-waiver of liabilities, the criminal jurisdiction provision and the protection of intellectual property rights arising in/on the ISS. The ISS legal framework can be taken as a model for the law of international space cooperation. It also provides basic rules for commercial use of the outer space. It may be used as reference for China's lawmaking on space activities.