Professor Gabrynowicz introduced the domestic and international satellite remote sensing legal framework. This framework rests on a treaty regime and customary law. The Outer Space Treaty was established in 1969 to prevent national rivalries from extending into outerspace. It focused on cooperation and the sharing of scientific data. It also contained environmental provisions to avoid harmful contamination. The launch of Sputnik and the right of overflight without permission gave rise to customary law. The UN Principles on Remote Sensing were negotiated for eleven years, but no formal treaty was ever developed. However, the results of the negotiations were incorporated into US domestic law in the 1992 Land Remote Sensing Policy Act. It has also been incorporated into Canadian law and adopted by the Japanese.
Professor Gabrynowicz also addressed Dow Chemical Company vs U.S. (106 S. Ct. 1819), a U.S. Supreme Court case that considered the use of both aerial and satellite remote sensing for environmental law enforcement. This was a fourth amendment environmental enforcement action. The dicta in the opinion suggested that, under the definition of "exotic technology," satellites could not be used for government searches. However, since the 4th Amendment protects people and not places, aerial surveillance is admissable evidence.
Now that this decsion has been made, the next issue that will be brought to court will likly be Unmanned Aerospace Vehicules (UAVs). Flying at 50,000 to 60,000 feet, these UAVs can take observations at an altitude higher than that of an airplane taking aerial photographs, but lower than satellites. Professor Gabrynowicz belives that UAVs will eventually be accepted into courts, and after that, the line between UAVs and remote sensing will likely become arbitrary.