1.5 The Applicable Legal Frameworks: An Overview
Before turning to the substantive analysis in Parts 2 and 3, it is necessary to introduce the three principal legal frameworks whose interaction this thesis examines: UNCLOS, the BBNJ, and the OST corpus. This section provides that orientation; deeper analysis of specific provisions follows in the subsequent Parts.
1.5.1 UNCLOS: The Constitution of the Oceans
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982 and entering into force in 1994, is widely recognised as the “constitution of the oceans.”(1) United Nations, "Oceans and the Law of the Sea," accessed April 26, 2026, https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/oceans-and-the-law-of-the-sea. It establishes the jurisdictional architecture of the global ocean, dividing maritime space into zones of varying State authority, internal waters, territorial seas, contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones (EEZ), the continental shelf, the high seas, and the deep seabed (the Area), and allocates rights and obligations accordingly. For present purposes, the most significant provisions are those in Part XII (Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment).
Article 192 imposes a general obligation on all States to protect and preserve the marine environment. Article 194 requires States to take all measures necessary to prevent, reduce, and control pollution of the marine environment from “any source,” language broad enough to capture pollution originating from space objects. Article 204 requires States to monitor the risks or effects of pollution, and Article 206, crucially, requires States to assess the potential effects of planned activities when they have “reasonable grounds for believing” that those activities “may cause substantial pollution of or significant and harmful changes to the marine environment.”(2)United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), December 10, 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S. 397, art. 206 These provisions are obligations of the highest generality, applying to all States party and in relation to activities “under their jurisdiction or control.” UNCLOS is also the parent instrument of the BBNJ, which was adopted as an implementing agreement and must be interpreted in light of the Convention.
1.5.2 The BBNJ: Operationalising Environmental Governance Beyond National Jurisdiction
The BBNJ under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (the BBNJ) was adopted in June 2023 and entered into force in January 2026. It addresses four main clusters: marine genetic resources; area-based management tools; environmental impact assessments (Part IV, Articles 27–39); and capacity-building. This landmark Agreement is the first legally binding international instrument specifically designed to govern human activities in ABNJ from an environmental perspective.
For present purposes, Part IV (Articles 27–39, EIA obligations) and Article 6 (general substantive standard) are the primary focus, analysed in Parts 2 and 3. Article 5 governs the BBNJ’s relationship with other applicable instruments - a central interpretive question addressed in Part 2.
1.5.3 The Outer Space Treaty Corpus: The International Space Law Framework
International space law rests on five UN treaties negotiated under the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) between 1967 and 1979. The foundational instrument is the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST).(3) Outer Space Treaty. The OST establishes: the prohibition on national appropriation of outer space (Article II); freedom of exploration and use (Article I); the obligation to conduct activities with “due regard” for others and to avoid harmful contamination (Article IX); and the attribution of international responsibility to States for national space activities, including those of non-governmental entities (Article VI). Article VIII establishes the registration-jurisdiction nexus: the State of registry retains jurisdiction and control over a space object wherever located. These provisions collectively constitute the “launching State” framework, which is further elaborated by the 1972 Liability Convention (absolute liability for damage caused by space objects on the Earth’s surface)(4) Liability Convention, art. II. and the 1975 Registration Convention.(5) Registration Convention, art. II.
Supplementing the treaties are the UNCOPUOS Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines (2007) and the IADC guidelines (2007, rev. 2021). These non-binding instruments require operators to minimise debris creation in orbit and to plan for end-of-life disposal, including controlled reentries targeting remote ocean zones to minimise risk to persons and property. Critically, they contain no requirement for any environmental impact assessment of the marine ecosystem consequences of reentries. The interaction between this framework and the UNCLOS/BBNJ framework is the central analytical challenge of Parts 2 and 3.