Who investigates a crime in space?

Recent claims of a possible space crime aboard the International Space Station raise the question: who investigates a crime in space?

No country or political entity has space. The boundaries between states and political borders do not exceed the atmosphere of the planet. So what jurisdictions would come into play in investigating allegations of space crime or dealing with a conviction, if the evidence showed that a crime in space had indeed been committed?

Article VIII of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty States "A State Party to the Treaty on whose register an object launched in space is transported retains the jurisdiction and control over that object as well as over its personnel, as long as it is within the Space or on a celestial body. "

Related: The space walks of the expedition 59 in photos

(Image credit: NASA)

In other words, if a crime is committed on a ship belonging to a given nation, that nation would have legal jurisdiction over the case and would therefore investigate the person who committed the crime. However, things are getting a little harder for astronauts aboard the International Space Station because the orbiting laboratory does not belong to a single nation or to domestic astronauts belonging to a single space agency.

In addition, different modules of the space station belong to different space agencies.

So, in theory, the place on the space station where a crime was committed could inform the jurisdiction, said Frans von der Dunk, lawyer and professor of space law at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, at Space.com.

(Image credit: United Nations)

An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) has created guidelines for cooperation between nations that coexist on the station. The agreement was signed by Canada, the European Partner States (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), Japan, Russia and the United States. United States. the IGA, each country is supposed to exercise criminal jurisdiction over the personnel of its respective country. For example, the United States would investigate a crime committed by a NASA astronaut.

Criminal charges against an American astronaut last week illustrate "the complexity of the legal framework that could apply," Neta Palkovitz, a lawyer and legal counsel specializing in law and policy, told Space.com 39; space. If the two people involved in the alleged crime are "Americans by nationality", then the IGA does not help much, since the crime does not concern any other ISS partner state. It becomes a pure domestic legal case in the United States and as NASA's astronaut. By using a NASA computer for the alleged crime, NASA should be the first to investigate what happened. "

Although these regulations have been in place for years, the complaint reported this weekend is the first time that a crime is alleged to have been committed in the space. according to the New York Times. The accusation is "really novelty in the sense that, for the first time, a person is doing something in space, or more precisely space, that could raise criminal problems," von der Dunk said.

As manned flights evolve to Mars or to long-lasting lunar colonies, legal problems will arise. At this stage, the already troubled waters of the fight against space crime will become even less clear. It is therefore possible that, as we venture further into the solar system, we need to develop more regulations and guidelines for criminal jurisdiction in space.

(Image credit: NASA Ames Research Center)

For a lunar or martian colony, criminal jurisdiction "will first use what we currently have as a baseline," von der Dunk said. For example, an American astronaut flying on Mars aboard an American spacecraft would be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. But things would become more complicated as more people came to the moon or Mars and humans would spend more time on these bodies.

For example, if a person is flying towards the moon, "step[s] out of the lunar module, send[s] he returns and stays[s] for four more years on the moon, they are no longer staff on board the spacecraft, "said von der Dunk, saying that such an individual would have been considered to be under the jurisdiction of the United States for his flight on board of an American vehicle, no longer working or living from this craft?

In addition, "the law of space has a particular twist, because this jurisdiction applies to space objects, and space objects are seen as something that humans launch into space. outer space, "said von der Dunk. So, if humans made their homes out of local materials on the Moon or Mars, would the jurisdiction change because astronauts would no longer be in a habitat or ship of a nation on Earth?

This is "of course, conjectures and hypotheses and a search in a crystal ball," said von der Dunk. But, he added, the ways in which space law can change as manned flights evolve are "interesting enough for us to start thinking about".

Space law will also have to evolve, because not only astronauts, but also space tourists, will launch into space. We will need additional regulations and legal frameworks "when space tourism becomes a commercial reality," Palkovitz said. "Most of the international laws that we have now apply to astronauts, but it is unclear to what extent they can apply to private individuals in a commercial spaceflight context."

"In fact," added Palkovitz, "we do not know yet or the outdoor space actually is in the legal sense. This is why we continue to question the legal framework applicable to sub-orbital commercial flights. These kinds of problems should be clarified in the near future, before we send people to live on the moon or on Mars. "

These questions will be particularly difficult to navigate if a violent crime ever happens on Mars or another extraterrestrial destination. The analysis of the crime scene on Mars or the Moon should be modified compared to the procedures of the Earth because variables such as blood splash will be radically different on these sites, because of the lower severity. In addition, as it is much harder for humans to survive on a planet like Mars, the conviction of a murderer in space could be particularly tricky.

"If you do not have judges or policemen on the moon, that will probably mean that you will have to provide a returning vehicle commander with police powers to take that person into custody and bring him on earth, "said von der Dunk. I said. But, he added, on Mars, this might not be an option.

(Image credit: NASA)

"If something like that happens on Mars … the local community will have every interest in doing justice," von der Dunk said. Once again, although they are only conjectures, the future Martian communities could themselves deal with criminal proceedings. "These people of the Earth have no idea what it means to live on Mars," he said, mimicking what a future astronaut on Mars might say. The future martian colonies "will establish their own pragmatic legal regime to start dealing with these issues".

However, von der Dunk added, future martian or lunar colonies may not be able to take over criminal cases as long as they still depend on supplies and support from the Earth, as they would need to maintain this relationship to survive .

The criminal allegations made this weekend are a lot less dreadful and confusing than a Martian murder. Summer Worden, McClain's wife, claimed that the astronaut had accessed Worden's bank account while he was aboard the space station. The investigation into these alleged facts continues as the two men separate.

McClain refuted the claimsand an investigation was opened. McClain denied the facts and said she would remain silent as the investigation progressed, she said on Twitter. NASA also said that it would not publicly address the claims or the investigation because the agency did not comment on personal matters.

Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.