Summary

The Space Asset Protocol forms part of the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment, the so-called Cape Town Convention of 2001, and was developed under the auspices of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) as a new secured transactions legal instrument to support asset-based financing of high-value, uniquely identifiable, mobile equipment in different sectors, offering an international approach independent from national legal instruments relating to the creation, registrations, priority, and enforcement of security rights in specific categories of assets. UNIDROIT has a long tradition in harmonization civil law instruments, but with the Space Asset Protocol it was the first time it was applied to space law matters. The overlap of classical property law aspects and international space law has turned out to be a particular challenge.

The Space Asset Protocol was opened for signature on March 9, 2012, the concluding day of the Diplomatic Conference held for its adoption in Berlin; therefore, it is also called the Berlin Protocol. Since then, the space sector has undergone several fundamental changes. The rise of the so-called “new space economy” (NewSpace) opens up new fields of application for the Berlin Protocol. It is an option that is independent from the classical project-based financing of space projects. One of its aims is to make it easier for newcomers to the space sector to obtain financing. The Cape Town Convention entered into force in 2006, together with the Aircraft Protocol. The Space Asset Protocol was adopted in 2012, with ten ratifications necessary for its entry into force.