Sep 5, 2023 03:49 PM
https://www.space.com/european-space-age...nformation
INTRO: The European Space Agency has come under criticism from journalists for its reluctance to disclose information. But here's the catch: The intergovernmental organization that redistributes billions of euros in taxpayer money is not obliged to comply with any Freedom of Information law. It stands above it. Here's why.
The legal world of the European Space Agency (ESA) is a strange one. The organization, founded in 1975, is governed by its Convention, a 130-page document that outlines not only the space agency's governing structure but also the many immunities and privileges its staff members and representatives enjoy. Above all, the document puts ESA above any jurisdiction — that is, it is not subject to the legal framework of any country that may have a stake in ESA and in which ESA facilities may reside. According to the Convention's annex, all ESA staff members not only have "immunity from jurisdiction in respect of acts, including words written and spoken, done by them in the exercise of their functions" but also "enjoy inviolability for all their official papers and documents."
That, according to legal experts that Space.com talked to, is common for intergovernmental organizations. But it creates a weird setup in which the taxpayers who fund the activities of these organizations have no legally enforceable insight into how their money is being spent.
Contrast that, for example, with the European Union (EU), which, contrary to some popular beliefs, has nothing to do with ESA...
[...] "The European Space Agency's lack of transparency with regard to the Ariane 6 rocket's development and testing is completely unacceptable," Berger said in the post. "This is a publicly funded project. Put another way, if NASA was trying to pull this garbage with the Space Launch System or other major project in the United States, the U.S. space press corps would be up in arms."
Unlike ESA, NASA is not above the law... [...] In other words, ESA decides what it wants to disclose and what it doesn't. Full stop. Unlike its bigger partner NASA or the EU, ESA has no FOIA mechanism in place. If journalists fail to get a hold of information, there is no ombudsman or court they can turn to in order to appeal.
[...] Rosenbaum suggests that one way for intergovernmental organizations such as ESA to bring themselves in line with the general practices of the 21st-century democratic world would be to subject themselves to the law of the countries where they are headquartered. That would allow "citizens of all their member states to use that system to request information in the public interest."
But ESA's response to Space.com's query suggests that the European equivalent of NASA is nowhere near ready to take such a step... (MORE - details)
INTRO: The European Space Agency has come under criticism from journalists for its reluctance to disclose information. But here's the catch: The intergovernmental organization that redistributes billions of euros in taxpayer money is not obliged to comply with any Freedom of Information law. It stands above it. Here's why.
The legal world of the European Space Agency (ESA) is a strange one. The organization, founded in 1975, is governed by its Convention, a 130-page document that outlines not only the space agency's governing structure but also the many immunities and privileges its staff members and representatives enjoy. Above all, the document puts ESA above any jurisdiction — that is, it is not subject to the legal framework of any country that may have a stake in ESA and in which ESA facilities may reside. According to the Convention's annex, all ESA staff members not only have "immunity from jurisdiction in respect of acts, including words written and spoken, done by them in the exercise of their functions" but also "enjoy inviolability for all their official papers and documents."
That, according to legal experts that Space.com talked to, is common for intergovernmental organizations. But it creates a weird setup in which the taxpayers who fund the activities of these organizations have no legally enforceable insight into how their money is being spent.
Contrast that, for example, with the European Union (EU), which, contrary to some popular beliefs, has nothing to do with ESA...
[...] "The European Space Agency's lack of transparency with regard to the Ariane 6 rocket's development and testing is completely unacceptable," Berger said in the post. "This is a publicly funded project. Put another way, if NASA was trying to pull this garbage with the Space Launch System or other major project in the United States, the U.S. space press corps would be up in arms."
Unlike ESA, NASA is not above the law... [...] In other words, ESA decides what it wants to disclose and what it doesn't. Full stop. Unlike its bigger partner NASA or the EU, ESA has no FOIA mechanism in place. If journalists fail to get a hold of information, there is no ombudsman or court they can turn to in order to appeal.
[...] Rosenbaum suggests that one way for intergovernmental organizations such as ESA to bring themselves in line with the general practices of the 21st-century democratic world would be to subject themselves to the law of the countries where they are headquartered. That would allow "citizens of all their member states to use that system to request information in the public interest."
But ESA's response to Space.com's query suggests that the European equivalent of NASA is nowhere near ready to take such a step... (MORE - details)