## 2 The Scope of Space Law in Africa
The five declarations and legal principles
* (a) The Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water 1963 [12];
* (b) The Principles Governing the Use by States of Artificial Earth Satellites for International Direct Television Broadcasting (1982) [13];
* (c) The Principles Relating to Remote Sensing of the Earth from Outer Space [14];
* (d) The Principles Relevant to the Use of Nuclear Power Sources in Outer Space [15];
* (e) The Declaration on International Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for the Benefit and in the Interest of All States, Taking into Particular Account the Needs of Developing Countries [16]. In addition to the above there are other national and bilateral agreements relating to activities in outer space that all together provide legal cover for all of man's endeavours in outer space. It is a remarkable feature of space law and a silent success of international relations that most of the regime governing outer space has been drawn up several decades ago. Another underreported success of this law is that African states have a very strong showing in terms of acceptance of these laws and they have signed and/or ratified them in very large numbers. Indeed our table below reveals that 53 African States have signed and/or ratified space related treaties. This primarily indicates that African governments have embraced the idea of international scientific exploration of outer space and that they do have national aspirations thereto. It also reveals their readiness to partake in space policy, cooperation and exploration activities both directly and indirectly as equal partners and as sovereign states. The following; Table 1 is revealing of the impressive level of African States integration into the general field of space law and legal ordering. An increasing number of states worldwide are responding to the opportunities of active outer space exploration by implementing dedicated legislation. States which have national legislation governing space-related activities in a holistic manner include inter alia Argentina, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden, South Africa, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**State** & **OST** & **ARA** & **LIAB** & **REG** & **MOON** & **NTB** & **BBS** & **ITSO** & **INTR** & **ESA** & **ARB** & **INTC** & **IMSO** & **EUTL** & **EUM** & **ITU** \\  & **1967** & **1968** & **1972** & **1975** & **1979** & **1963** & **1974** & **1971** & **1971** & **1975** & **1976** & **1976** & **1976** & **1982** & **1983** & **1992** \\ \hline Algeria & R & & R & R & S & & R & & & R & & & R & & R \\ Angola & & & & & & & R & & & & & & & & R \\ Benin & R & & & & & R & R & & & & & & & & & R \\ Bouwana & S & R & R & & R & & R & & & & & & & & R \\ Burkina Faso & R & & & & & S & R & & & & & & & & & R \\ Burnardi & S & & & & & S & S & & & & & & & & R \\ Cameroon & S & R & & & S & R & & & & & & & R & \\ Cape Verde & & & & & R & & R & & & & & & & & R \\ Carre, Aft., Borg. & S & & & S & R & & R & & & & & & & R \\ Chad & & & & & R & & & & & & & & & & R \\ Comos & & & & & & R & & & & & & & & & R \\ Congo & & & & & & R & & & & & & & & & R \\ Cote ofrove & & & & & R & S & R & & & & & & & & R \\ Dem, Rep., Of C Congo & & & S & S & & R & & & & & & & & R \\ Djibouti & & & & & & R & & & & & & & & & & R \\ Egypt & R & R & S & & R & R & R & & & & & & & & R \\ Eq., Guinea & R & & & & R & & & & & & & & & & & R \\ Eritrea & & & & & S & R & & & & & & & & & & R \\ Ethiopia & S & & & S & R & & & & & & & & & & & \\ Gabon & R & R & R & R & & R & & & & & & & & & \\ Gamnia & S & R & S & R & R & & & & &