Re: [FT] The UN

>>I liked the idea of the UN being responsible for Starship safety.
Doesn't
>>it mean that all UN ships have to donate 1% of mass to a giant blue
>>flashing light ("excuse me sir, could you just pull over to the
nearest
>>orbit & then breathe into this bag for me, please?").  Seriously
though,
>>it would give them a hold over the major powers - imagine it; the
>>slavering IF tell the UN to take a long (naked) walk through a short
>>airlock & suddenly all the IF merchant ships in human space are having
>>"routine safety inspections" on every single planet they stop at... 
>>Might even make the IF think twice.  On second thoughts, maybe not...
>> 
>>
>
>I can't really see a major or minor power heaving to for inspections
unless
>they were seriously outgunned. Do UN ships today stop warships? No, at
>least not unless you count another country's forces enforcing a UN
decesion.

I agree, they'd have a hard time getting a warship to heave to.  You'd
do
it to merchant vessels, which would be the mainstay of interstellar
trade
(put the armlock on their $$$, not headbut with their navies...).  You
wouldn't see a UN vessel chasing down a merchant to heave to for
inspections unless there was a trade embargo or you suspected them of
"deficiencies" or something.  Rather, there would be a series of
treaties
kind of like the present day international maritime law, that would
provide
for standards for starship safety, etc.  Each operator of a starport
would
have the authority to impound a ship for violations of the "space laws"
such as improper licences or safety violations.  The authority would be
part of the treaties - but would be limited by a requirement that the
impounding authority be able to prove the violation.  Maybe there's a UN
inspector at each starport who is there to provide oversight authority
if a
violation is found (but who wouldn't actually inspect each and every
ship).
 To get a licence, you'd have to have your ship inspected by UN
authorized
inspectors and pay a UN fee.  Present day ships can be impounded by
another
country if they are violating international safety standards, etc. - so
this idea is really just an extension of the ideas in existing
international law.  Each country today has the responsibility of
enforcing
international maritime law in its territorial waters - and there are UN
bodies for dispute resolution as needed.

I figure either warships would be exempt from having to get UN permits,
or
they would have a different category.  They'd still have to follow some
kind of basic rules, or a starport could refuse to let them dock, refuel
them, etc.