试论外层空间活动损害赔偿的法律机制

On Damage Compensation Legal Mechanism of Outer Space Activities

任何法律制度都包含违背其规定义务的责任制度,为保障受损害一方能有效追偿,法律确立了损害赔偿制度。中国国内民法规定有损害事实且该事实与损害结果有因果关系时,承担损害赔偿责任;国际法上确立国际责任制度,提出不论是国际不法行为还是国际法上不加禁止的行为皆应通过恢复原状、赔偿或补偿等方式来承担损害赔偿国际责任;空间法上损害赔偿主要见于《外空条约》的原则性规定和《责任公约》具体规定中。现有的空间活动损害赔偿制度存在着条约规定分散、术语定义模糊、缺少对外空活动私营化立法、条约间选择适用不明确等不足。因此,完善空间活动损害赔偿机制,应从统一外空条约方面入手,通过定期修订外空立法,进一步明晰对损害、发射国、空间物体的定义,增加外空活动私营化立法规定,使得损害赔偿条约间的选择适用更加明确。

Any legal system contains breach of obligation under its responsibility system. To ensure one party can effectively obtain indemnity,the law established the system of damage compensation. The domestic civil law in China sets that if there are damage facts and the facts have causal relationship with the harmful consequences,there should be damage compensation liability. International law established the international responsibility which proposes that both international wrongful acts and international law non-forbidden actions should bear international liability for damage compensation by means of repristination or compensation. In outer space law,damage compensation can be found mainly in the principle norms of Outer Space Treaty and the specific provisions of Liability Convention. The present damage compensation system has problems such as scattered treaty provisions,vaguely-defined terminology,lack of legislation in private activity,unclear choices among treaties,etc. The completion of damage compensation mechanism of outer space should start with the unification of outer space treaties,revising regularly the outer space legislation. The definition of damage,launching states,space objects should be further clarified and privatization of outerspace activity legislation should be increased to make the alternative application among treaties of damage compensation more clear.