STATE GOVERNANCE FOR AN EMERGING SPACE NATION Working Paper No. 4 State Exposure Under the Liability Convention: Attribution and Control

This working paper examines State exposure under the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects and clarifies liability as a retrospective legal function distinct from authorization, continuing supervision, and registration. It analyzes the attribution of responsibility through the concept of the launching State and distinguishes between absolute and fault-based liability under international space law. The analysis is doctrinal and descriptive, grounded in treaty interpretation and general principles of State responsibility, and informed by patterns of State practice. Rather than proposing regulatory reform or evaluating domestic preparedness, the paper focuses on the legal structure of liability, the role of attribution and control, and the interaction between liability and other treaty-based functions. It builds on the functional mapping framework developed in earlier working papers in this series.