National Space Legislation in Latin America

Space activities have increased exponentially in recent times with a large participation of private companies. Taking into account that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty establishes that states parties are responsible for national activities carried out by governmental and non-governmental entities in outer space, and have the duty to authorize and supervise such activities, it is necessary and desirable that states adopt national legislation in order to comply with such obligations. In Latin America, the situation regarding the enactment of national space legislation is very heterogeneous. Some countries have numerous national space regulations, while others have only enacted laws approving the space treaties to which they are party. In this article, we will assess the current status of some countries in the region in terms of the existence of national space legislation.