Open Access Research Article

THE MARKET ACCESS LOOPHOLE: RECONCILING THE FCC’S FIVE-YEAR DEORBIT RULE WITH ARTICLE VIII JURISDICTION AND CONTROL

Author(s):
ADAMYA SINGH SHIVANK SINGH PARIKSHIT NEGI
Journal IJLRA
ISSN 2582-6433
Access Open Access
Volume 3
Issue 7
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Abstract

The proliferation of orbital debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) has prompted domestic regulators to act in the absence of a comprehensive, binding international mitigation regime. In 2022, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a rule requiring qualifying LEO space stations to be disposed of within five years of the end of their mission. By applying this requirement to non-U.S.-licensed systems seeking domestic market access, the FCC surfaced a profound tension within international space law: the intersection between a State’s authority to condition access to its telecommunications market and the registry State’s jurisdiction and control over its space objects under Article VIII of the Outer Space Treaty. While existing scholarship has largely examined the FCC’s domestic regulatory authority, this article interrogates the international jurisdictional problem presented by such indirect regulation. It argues that neither a formalistic reliance on territorial jurisdiction nor an absolute conception of Article VIII exclusivity provides a satisfactory resolution. Instead, this article proposes a seven-factor “functional-effects framework” to identify when a market-access condition crosses the legal threshold from permissible operational regulation into a substantive prescription concerning a foreign-registered object’s physical disposition. Applying this framework, the article finds that the FCC’s five-year rule occupies the outer boundary of permissible indirect regulation, generating a strong Article VIII objection while recognizing the mitigating significance of effective foreign regulatory oversight.

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Authors: ADAMYA SINGH, SHIVANK SINGH & PARIKSHIT NEGIRegistration ID: 1013320 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13320, IJLRA13321 & IJLRA13322Year: Oct-2026 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 7Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, IndiaPage No.: 729- 747

Article Information

THE MARKET ACCESS LOOPHOLE: RECONCILING THE FCC’S FIVE-YEAR DEORBIT RULE WITH ARTICLE VIII JURISDICTION AND CONTROL

Authors: ADAMYA SINGH, SHIVANK SINGH, PARIKSHIT NEGI

  • Journal IJLRA
  • ISSN 2582-6433
  • Volume 3
  • Issue 7
Citation Download Paper Full Details Search on Google Search on Google Scholar

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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis

  • AbbreviationIJLRA
  • ISSN2582-6433
  • AccessOpen Access
  • LicenseCC 4.0

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