Legal Opinion
The Chamber of Commerce has just published its opinion on draft law n° 7317 on space-related activity. This bill of law also contains a further reform of the law of 9th July 1937 regarding the taxation of insurance. It seeks to complete the legislative framework as applicable to space-related activity in Luxembourg, and does so by creating a general legal framework applicable to all these activities.
A central aspect of the draft law is the creation of a set of obligatory administrative licensing procedures for each space-related activity. The bill also relates to regulatory mechanisms and obligatory registration procedures for all objects launched into outer space. As with maritime vehicles recorded with Luxembourg’s public maritime register, the draft law would also exempt from taxation insurance contracts for space objects concerned by the rules related to registration requirements.
The Chamber of Commerce is pleased to see that the national legislative framework related to space is evolving, and it reaffirms its support for the creation of an attractive national ecosystem for all players in this sector. As regulation in this sector is still mostly lacking, suggestions from the Chamber of Commerce designed to improve and clarify the legal framework contained in this draft bill will help Luxembourg develop a solid foundation. This will help this economic activity develop over the long term.
Be equipped with a general law applicable to all space-related activity
The Chamber of Commerce would like to stress the importance for Luxembourg of equipping itself with a general law which would bring together all the main principals applicable to all space-related activity. Thus in this regard it regrets that the text will exclude from its scope activities linked to exploration and the use of resources in space. This decision was motivated by the fact that these activities are already regulated by the law of 20th July 2017 on the exploration and use of space resources. While it is reasonable that certain specific activities should be governed by special laws, as is the case with the law of 20th July 2017, this must not get in the way of creating a general law that would form the basis of a more easily understandable legal framework.
Create a single, clear, coordinated set of administrative procedures that will ensure a high level of security for the state and operators
Once again the Chamber of Commerce would like to underline the importance of making legal and administrative procedures as easy to understand as possible for external players. For example, initiatives such as the Luxembourg Space Agency demonstrates clear awareness of the need to create a single point of contact for the space-sector. This is why it is important that the administrative authorisation regime in the bill should be rationalised, with the number of registers and interlocutors kept to a minimum.
Strengthen the bill’s legal certainty by clarifying responsibilities and obligations
The Chamber of Commerce regrets that the bill does not deal with the legal responsibility of operators in the case of damage being caused. This is particularly relevant for the space sector given that international treaties (of which Luxembourg is a signatory) puts sole unlimited responsibility on the state for any injury caused by nationals carrying out space-related activity. Discussions about a general space-related activity law are the ideal moment to create national rules which would define the conditions and limits around which the state could seek redress against an operator which has caused legal injury (harm that the state would be obliged to compensate for as per its international obligations). In particular, the Chamber of Commerce is concerned that without a legal maximum limit of responsibility for operators, insurance cover for space-related activity will become a potentially unbridgeable barrier for operators, thus discouraging them from establishing in Luxembourg.
In its official opinion, the Chamber of Commerce also invites the authors of the bill to specify several other important matters. These include conditions related to authorisation, rules related to the withdrawal or suspension of administrative authorisation, but also the conditions governing supervision by the state of authorised space-related activity.
The full text of the Chamber of Commerce’s opinion is available in French on their website.