Use of Earth remote sensing data in international lawsuits; [Использование данных дистанционного зондирования Земли в международных судебных процессах]

Remote sensing of the Earth from outer space makes it possible to obtain highly accurate data that can be used for a variety of purposes, including submitting it as evidence in international courts. Such data are increasingly used by the parties in the process of resolving, primarily, territorial disputes, in such bodies as the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. This contributes to a more effective achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 16. Nevertheless, the wider use of remote sensing data in the procedure of the settlement of international disputes is hindered by a number of factors in respect of which states are encouraged to take measures: limited number of states implementing remote sensing; lack of interstate mechanisms for the exchange of experience, experts and the latest technologies for working with remote sensing data; lack of confidence in remote sensing data received by foreign satellites; lack of international legal mechanisms for data verification; lack of agreed criteria for the acceptance and assessment of remote sensing data in the context of international justice issues. This article contains an overview of the practice of using remote sensing data in the consideration of international disputes, as well as an analysis of the international legal regulation of remote sensing in the light of the need to ensure the possibility of a wider use of remote sensing data in international courts. © 2022 Sovremennye Problemy Distantsionnogo Zondirovaniya Zemli iz Kosmosa. All rights reserved.