Canada will investigate crimes committed in space and on the moon

The Government of Canada has adopted an amendment to the Criminal Code, which provides for liability for space crimes, as for earthly ones.

Now criminal acts committed in the openspace and on the moon will be equated with what happened on the territory of the country. The changes were part of a comprehensive 443-page bill approved by Parliament this week. 181 deputies voted for the extension of Canadian jurisdiction to space, 144 were against.

The text of the addendum to the Criminal Code states:

“MemberCanadian crew, who during the space missionflight commits an act or omission outside the country which, if committed in Canada, would constitute a criminal offence, shall be deemed to have committed that act or omission in Canada.”

Foreign astronauts may also be held liable if, during a space mission, their actions threaten the lives or safety of Canadians.

The amendment was adopted against the backdrop of an increase in the overallnumber of resident spaceflights and in anticipation of NASA's crewed lunar mission, which must involve a Canadian citizen. It is expected to travel to Earth's satellite aboard the Artemis II spacecraft in 2024.

While the Space Crimes Amendment wasintroduced into the Criminal Code only now, the judicial system already has experience in dealing with such cases. In 2019, a NASA astronaut was charged with illegally accessing bank records while on the International Space Station. However, it turned out to be false, so in the end the plaintiff was prosecuted for perjury.

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