What Happens If You Commit A Crime In Outer Space?



Space, like the high seas, is considered res communis – it belongs to everyone and to no one, nor can any country lay claim to it. However, that doesn't mean that outer space is free from national laws. So, what happens if you commit a crime in outer space? Simple: You get arrested when you return to earth. As for the question of who prosecutes space crimes, the short answer is that a spacefaring criminal would generally be subject to the law of the country of which they are a citizen, or the country aboard whose registered spacecraft the crime was committed, because the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 grants that country authority “over any personnel thereof.” Future space tourists are unlikely to be aboard the ISS, so that agreement won’t apply to them. It's most likely that the criminal law of the country of registration of the space plane would apply, but this could be problematic if the countries whose citizens are on board also attempt to claim jurisdiction. There’s also the question of where space begins. Earth’s atmosphere doesn’t have a solid boundary, which makes it hard to determine whether air law or space law would apply. Either way, there are no "get out of jail free" cards in outer space.