UNIDROIT – Third Space Protocol Steering Committee with BHO Legal participation

From 13 to 15 May 2009 the specially set up Steering Committee on matters concerning the Space Assets Protocol (Space Protocol) to the Cape Town Convention convened in Paris, France. Following the Aircraft (Cape Town 2001) and the Railway Protocol (Luxembourg 2007), the Space Protocol is going to be the next addition to the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment. The Space Protocol aims at providing new financing instruments to the space industry for the constitution and effects of internationally recognized interests in assets to be launched into outer space. The meeting in Paris was the third meeting of the Steering Committee since its setting up in May 2008 with the aim to solve the last outstanding but nevertheless difficult to regulate issues of the Protocol which due to the special nature of assets positioned in outer space is in many ways set apart for the usual regulations on securities remaining on earth and thus in range of direct physical possession. Once more high ranking experts of established space faring nations such as the USA, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Japan, the Russian Federation, China and Germany as well as experts from countries like Mexico, South Africa and Nigeria took part in the discussion. Following the UNIDROIT deputy general-secretaries kind invitation as already for the Steering Committee meetings in Berlin in May and November 2008, Dr. Oliver Heinrich, BHO Legal, again took the honor of participating in these latest Steering Committee discussions in Paris.