UNIDROITInternational Institute for International Private Law

Third-party liability for Global Navigation Satellite

System (GNSS) services Rome, 22 October 2010

Informal consultation meeting

www.unidroit.org

The system

GlobalNavigationSatelliteSystem

Not only navigation, but also: positioning and timing

PositioningNavigationTiming

What is GNSS and how it works?

Three components: Space segment Ground station

Receiver

Currently, there are two operational global systems: Navstar-GPS of the United States GLONASS of the Russian Federation in a very near future the GNSS will be enriched by other

global constellations: Galileo of the European Union Compass-Beidou of Chinaand by regional constellatons: IRNSS of India QZSS of Japan

Space segments: Constellations of satellites

Navstar GPS

GLONASS

GALILEO

Compass-Beidou

QZSS

Space Based Augmentation Systems(SBAS)

There are several operational SBAS:WAAS of United States of AmericaEGNOS of European UnionMSAS of Japanunder development:GAGAN of IndiaMalaysian SBASNigComsat-1 of Nigeria

Space Based Augmentation Systems(SBAS)

Ground Based Augmentation Systems (GBAS)

INTEROPERABILITY

The different constellations and

augmentation systems are implemented so as to be interoperable and fully

compatible; thus, an international uniform instrument could offer

users one single regime, whichever the

signal provider.

Applications of GNSS • GNSS has a variety of applications, hence the

possible sources of liability are equally varied. Many human activities rely on GNSS on a daily basis, and their number will progressively increase. It would therefore be extremely difficult for GNSS providers to foresee all possible events, each subject to different rules.

• An international uniform instrument could offer a single liability regime applicable to all possible fields, also in case of new applications.

 

Applications of

positioning:

geodesy

Liability regimes applicable to damage caused by failure of GNSS

• GNSS failure or malfunction can provoke errors in the signal, which may be source of accidents in the different areas of activity that rely on those signals.

• These accidents could provoke loss and damages which, in the worst scenario, could even be catastrophic

• Legal issues on the third-party liability: applicable law, jurisdiction

International instruments: general regimes on liability

None of the existing general international liability regimes applies to third-party liability for

accidents caused by GNSS failure or malfunction in transmitting the signal.

International regimes on liability in the transport sector

Notwithstanding the existence of a variety of instruments in the transport sector, a number of accidents provoked by GNSS failure or malfunction could fall outside their

scope of application.The transport operator would maintain a right of

recourse of the transport operator in respect of the GNSS signal provider.

These instruments all provide for a limitation of compensation; in the absence of such a limitation for

GNSS activities, the plaintiffs might be induced to address the GNSS provider directly in order to obtain

higher compensation.The existing regimes can present gaps in protection, and leave open the questions of the subsidiary direct action against the GNSS provider for these “gaps”.

International regimes governing liability for nuclear damage

An international instrument on GNSS liability could address the nuclear risk and indicate the

relationship of the regime that it creates with the existing instruments in this field.

Regimes governing GNSS liability for applications not covered by the

existing instruments

An international instrument on GNSS liability could provide a sound and uniform regime for all accidents

caused by a failure or malfunction of the system, both for those covered and for

those not covered by existing international regimes

Other legal issues on GNSS liability An international instrument could address the

issues of:•fraudulent intervention of a third person;•force majeure;•qualification of GNSS signal as a service;•liability in case of failure-malfunction caused by a defective component of the GNSS.

An international uniform regime on GNSS liability could facilitate the insurability of GNSS

activities.It could also address the issue of open services with respect with GNSS activities and clarify it.

The legal work on GNSS issues undertaken by international

organisations

An international instrument could be negotiated in cooperation with other international

organisations which, in a way or in the other, take interest in GNSS systems, and making use

of their expertise.

Thank you!