Critique of the International Law on Protection of the Outer Space Environment

Environmental concerns are an issue for the outer space legal regime. Human activities result in insurmountable amounts of debris, chemical effluents, and radioactive waste carried into the domain of space, which poses a serious threat to future generations and uses of space. Sophisticated technology and the amount of funds required to access space complicate the task of addressing orbital debris. To correct this anomaly, regulation of space activities with a view to making them environmentally sustainable is called for in this article. With this aim in mind, I critically analyze the existing international legal framework, examining its relevance in conserving the space environment. Discovering a slew of irregularities, I endeavor to review each legal instrument in the context of environmental conservation and evaluate their effectiveness. I conclude that the outer space legal regime is acutely ineffectual and reforms are an imperative. The research reveals a plethora of suggestions, which include, inter alia, amendment to Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty, harmonization of international environmental law and space law, and the establishment of an international regime for the removal, maintenance, and servicing of satellites. With such proposals in mind, the need to frame a new space policy or modify the existing framework is emphasized herein.     

Domestic violence during pregnancy in India

Domestic violence can result in many negative health consequences for women's health and well-being. Studies on domestic violence illustrate that abused women in various settings had increased health problems such as injury, chronic pain, gastrointestinal, and gynecological signs including sexually transmitted diseases, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. This article tries to understand the association between domestic violence and pregnancy outcomes and other health consequences. The study was carried out in all the six zones of India that is, northern, southern, eastern, western, central, and northeast zones. The study design was conceived as an analytical cross sectional study with multicenter approach. Multistage sampling and then probability proportion to size (PPS) sampling were done. A total of 18 states were taken for the study with a total sample of 14,507 married women and 14,108 married men. Married men were considered from the neighboring villages to understand men's perspective. To understand the situation, women were interviewed using semistructured questionnaire as well as qualitative data like FGD and case studies. The result shows that domestic violence occurs during pregnancy across six zones. The situations become worse for women if her husband or family perceived the pregnancy to be a female child and there is a demand for male child. It has major health implications in accessing and utilizing antenatal care and immunization.