International Space Law Research Papers (original) (raw)

Actualmente es innegable que vivimos en un periodo de sobreexplotación y escasez de los recursos naturales en nuestro planeta: sobreexplotación, porque nuestro ritmo de uso y consumo de estos materiales es mucho mayor a su tasa de regeneración; y escasez, porque ello irremediablemente provoca que muchos de estos recursos puedan agotarse. A la luz de esta situación, los científicos han planteado, entre diversas alternativas, la posibilidad de extraer los recursos fuera de nuestro planeta. El problema, desde una perspectiva legal, sería determinar bajo qué circunstancias esa extracción debería estar permitida. En este sentido cabría preguntarse si los recursos existentes en la Luna deberían ser distribuidos de forma equitativa entre los países de la comunidad internacional o si por el contrario debería aplicarse la máxima de quien llega primero se lo queda. La respuesta a esta pregunta no es definitiva, mientras que el Tratado internacional sobre el espacio ultraterrestre firmado en 1967 estableció en su artículo 2 el principio de no apropiación, el Acuerdo que gobierna las actividades de los estados en la Luna y otros cuerpos celestes de 1979, dejaba la puerta abierta al establecimiento de un régimen internacional. Lamentablemente, las divergencias entre los diferentes estados de la comunidad internacional hicieron imposible llegar a establecer este régimen. De hecho, el Acuerdo sobre la Luna fue el último tratado internacional adoptado en esta materia. Sin embargo, el problema no acaba aquí y es que recientemente varios estados de la comunidad internacional han regulado unilateralmente sus actividades espaciales en su Derecho interno. Este es el caso, por ejemplo, de los Estados Unidos de América o de Luxemburgo. De hecho, en la actualidad, hay una serie de países que están tramitando su propia ley reguladora de la actividad espacial. En este sentido se espera, por ejemplo, que Emiratos Árabes Unidos adopte muy pronto su propia legislación nacional en esta materia. Todo ello provoca que no quede nada claro cómo estos actos unilaterales de los estados afectarán al régimen internacional establecido y cómo se podría lograr una gestión más eficiente de los recursos espaciales. Quizás podríamos aprender del exitoso modelo implementado por la Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT) para la regulación de las órbitas espaciales.

Additive manufacturing or 3d printing enables manufacturing physical objects from three-dimensional digital models by laying down successive layers of material. Technology demonstrations have proved that such material could originate from a celestial body, such as an asteroid or the Moon. Thus, new objects could be manufactured using materials from celestial objects. Most legal orders provide that the manufacturer of a new object acquires original ownership thereon, while eventual property rights over the material used is lost. Such provision could qualify as a recognized general principle of law under Art. 38(1)(c) of the ICJ statute. Ownership through manufacturing might then be acquired, irrespective of the non-appropriation principle of Art. II Outer Space Treaty (OST). This paper examines whether the non-appropriation principle could be circumvented through manufacturing with celestial materials. It is submitted that the OST should prevail, if the non-appropriation principle co...

- by Michael Chatzipanagiotis
- •
- Engineering, International Space Law, 3-D printing, Asteroid Mining

Moon Mining: Difficulty in Opportunity or Opportunity in Difficulty?

- by Olga Stelmakh-Drescher
- •
- International Space Law, Space Policy, Outer Space Law, Space Law

The Earth's orbital space is increasingly threatened by debris. It is frequently described as a common-pool resource vulnerable to a 'tragedy of the commons' scenario. Scholars have suggested ambitious policy proposals to tackle the tragedy of space debris and assure the sustainability of the Earth's orbits. Their proposals can be classified into three categories: hierarchical regulations, economic incentives and property rights. All three categories require some form of central coordination. However, there might be an alternative approach to the problem and other potential solutions. Elinor Ostrom suggested that decentralized, polycentric systems are appropriate for governing common-pool resources. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a polycentric form of governance can encourage a more sustainable use of the Earth's orbits.

As recent events prove, the creation and use of works in outer space give rise to practical issues of copyright law. This article examines whether Earthly copyright law applies to matters that take place in outer space and, if so, which law. First, the principles of space law are compared
with those of copyright law established for matters on Earth. Secondly we examine whether the principles of space law affect and limit the scope of copyright law. Next, we address if and how international copyright law determines a national copyright law which governs the
creation of works as well as copyright infringements in outer space. We then show that matters in outer space may challenge the application of the lex loci protectionis as well as the principle of territoriality in copyright law.

- by Sebastian Golla
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- Private International Law, Copyright, Copyright (Law), International Space Law
- by Bartłomiej Gerałt
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- International Space Law
- by Bartłomiej Gerałt
- •
- International Space Law

The aim of this paper is to analyze the concept of 'non-appropriation' in outer space from a legal point of view. The Outer Space Treaty in its Article II provides that outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by any means. In the absence of an official interpretation, the precise meaning of this provision has been discussed for decades. This paper will approach the problem by going back to the origin of the concept 'appropriation': more than 1500 years ago Roman lawyers had already developed different categories to indicate the relationship between a person and a thing. Among them, the concept of res communes omnium was emblematic of how these ancient notions could find new life in the regulation of the cosmic dimension. These categories evolved during the following centuries and eventually led to the development of a specific regime called 'property law'. Over time, different types of relationship between a person and a thing were elaborated and then categorized, depending on the degree of disposition that the person has on it. This resulted in a large number of legal instruments that, if applied to outer space, could allow forms of disposition-other than appropriation-of space and its resources. The legal status of outer space derives from Roman law. Many of the legal problems faced by the international community today with regard to the cosmic environment are not different from the ones already faced by Roman lawyers when trying to regulate the reality around them. This paper will demonstrate how the 'non-appropriation' principle could be interpreted as being limited to just a very specific type of property right, leaving the door open to other forms of disposition of things beyond the atmosphere. In other words, Roman law theories on property rights can offer legal arguments for the use of space resources without breaching the Outer Space Treaty. Underlining the legal feasibility of commercial use of space resources as well as of settlements on other celestial bodies can hopefully represent an incentive for the international community to establish a regime regarding these activities. If that is not achieved, uncertainty will prevail and conflicts are certain to arise.

- by Andrea Capurso
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- Property Rights, Roman Law, International Space Law, Space Law

Asteroid mining has been a focus of a number of studies in the fields of future studies, law economics, as well as geology, and robotics. Legal aspects of space mining have been and still are a topic of many academic debates, as well as proceedings of the UNOOSA. Vagueness and the idea of Common Heritage of Mankind were the main reasons of the rejection of the The Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which provisions included the would to be foundations of a new space exploration and exploitation regime. Although state parties are taking advantage of the “province of mankind”, and intend to use their national regulations as lex specialis, there is a need for a global framework, binding all space mining parties. This is due to the plurality of models being developed by state parties and space involved NGOs, where one state could base it’s model on XIX century whaling, with “miners-keepers” as a principle, the other on the Great Mining Act model, involving staking claims or otherwise marking exclusivity prior to landing a mining craft. That is why there needs to be an international, intergovernmental or interagency cooperation, in order to make asteroid mining risk and conflict free, as well as maintaining a healthy economic environment in the NewSpace era. This paper focuses on possible models of international framework for mining asteroids, that would be the most reasonable, both for the miners based in developed countries, as well as include the incentive for mining contractors and III and IV tier companies from developing countries.

- by Space Law Resource and +1
- •
- International Space Law, Space, Space Law, Space Mining

КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНЫЕ ОСНОВЫ ОБЩЕГО НАСЛЕДИЯ ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСТВА Цель данного исследования состояла в обзоре концептуальных рамок общего наследия человечества, с помощью которых можно понять философию этого понятия и буквальное значение термина общего наследия человечества. Поскольку эта концепция рассматривается как новое явление в международном праве и бросает вызов принятым концепциям классического международного права, она изучается философски и оценивается в естественном праве и позитивном праве. Каждое из слов общей фразы наследия человечества и его правовых последствий было также изучено, чтобы разрешить неоднозначности в этой концепции как можно больше. Учитывая, что концепция общего наследия человечества включает в себя некоторые принципы, на основе которых она устанавливается, были рассмотрены принципы мирного использования, неисключительного использования ресурсов, совместного использования выгод и международного управления ресурсами. Были изложены позиции развитых и развивающихся стран в отношении этих принципов и упомянуто нынешнее состояние этих принципов. Ключевые слова: общее наследие человечества; развивающиеся страны; развитые страны; морское право; космическое право; естественное право; позитивное право. THE CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE COMMON HERITAGE OF MANKIND The purpose of this research was to overview the conceptual framework of the common heritage of mankind through which the philosophy of this concept and the literal meaning of the term of the common heritage of mankind can be understood. Since this concept is considered a new phenomenon in the international law and challenges the accepted concepts of the classical international law, it has been studied philosophically and evaluated in natural law and positive law. Each of the words of the common heritage of mankind phrase and its legal implications was also studied to resolve the ambiguities in this concept as much as possible. Given that the concept of the common heritage of mankind involves some principles based on which it is established, the principles of peaceful using, non-exclusive use of resources, benefits sharing and international management of resources were examined. The positions of developed and developing countries about these principles were described and the current status of these principles was mentioned.

- by Siavash Mirzaee
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- Law of the Sea, International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Space Law

Considering the worsening climate change, in the future outer space might be our last Noah’s Ark. Now, humans must look
to space as an opportunity to support growing resource requirements. Asteroids are rich in metals, which could be transported
back to Earth. Unfortunately, the existing international legal framework discourages investments in the space economy. Once
an enterprise invests billions of dollars in discovering and developing a mining site, it cannot claim any ownership because of
the non-appropriation principle stipulated in Article 2 of the Outer Space Treaty (OST). Thus, other entities could legally
access and exploit the same resource without any participation in the initial financial investment, increasing the risk of potential
conflict. Bearing this in mind, the question arises, which legal regime could ensure effective allocation of resources, avoiding
a chaotic space race to acquire valuable assets? The aim of this research is to argue that the first two articles of OST should be
amended, to set up an international legal trust system which would guarantee different kinds of rights, dependently on the
nature of the celestial body. E.g., property rights could be preferable to a lease over asteroids, as they could be exploited to
their disappearance. This proposed system would be led by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), as
the main trustee. The co-trustees would be the nations of the world. Prior to initiating any space activity, every entity would
send a request to their national government. If all the legal parameters are respected, the nation would forward the operational
request to the UNOOSA. In the case of acceptance, UNOOSA would record the permit on an international public registry. The
country in which the company has been registered would investigate whether the activities of its national company are
consistent with the permit. This would be the ordinary model. The extraordinary model would be when the applicant for the
space activity is a state, then the trustee would be the UN. All lucrative activities would be subject to benefit-sharing. Finally,
this research will demonstrate the valuable outcome of the International Legal Trust System and its advantages for all
humankind. Private companies would rely on property rights, while the benefit-sharing could be used to finance the 17
Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2015, which address peace, climate change, inequalities and poverty.

- by Ivan Fino
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- International Law, Public International Law, International Space Law, Trust law

The purpose of this research is to provide a comprehensive international legal analysis of the concept of common heritage of mankind as it exists in international space law. In this article scientific methodological approach was used which facilitate determination the whole canvas of the research, identify the main aspects and concepts of the study. The author also widely investigated the concept of common heritage of mankind in the practice of States and international organizations and bodies. Since mankind succeeded to access outer space and opened the window of this infinite realm, the effort was made to systematize spatial activities by codification and adoption numerous international treaties and declarations. One of the significant result of these efforts was the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies that adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space by consensus on 5 December 1979, declares the Moon and other celestial bodies to be the common heritage of mankind. This Agreement has never been ratified by any State that engaged in self-launched manned space exploration or has plans to do so and thus has an insignificant effect on spatial activities. This article analysis the concept of common heritage of mankind that consists of five elements: non-appropriation, international management of resources, sharing of financial and technological benefits , reservation for peaceful purposes and reservation for further generations. It is shown that the Moon Agreement applying the concept of common heritage of mankind to outer space, Moon and other celestial bodies which has been presented by developing countries to preserve essential resources, always been associated with some problems. Also, on the one hand, there is an attempt to scrutinize these obstacles that prevent applying this concept by paying attention to its challenges. On the other hand, author presents some solutions to strengthen this concept in outer space legal system and motivate space powers to join the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

- by Siavash Mirzaee
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- International Law, International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Space Law

The main objective of this dissertation is to outline the development of International Space Law in the field of space debris mitigation and remediation. The purpose is to provide a legal analysis starting from the Treaties and Principles of Law that make up the Corpus Iuris Spatialis, up to the proposal of a Code of Conduct for Space Debris Mitigation. The study is focused on the need of defining a technical and juridical set of rules at international level and is divided in three main parts. The aim of the first chapter is to evaluate the role of the already existing Treaties and to technically define what constitutes space debris because of a normative gap in the international regulatory system. Starting from the definition elaborated by Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination and from the role of the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s space objects catalogue, it will be examined the process of space debris accumulation, i.e. Kessler Syndrome. Indeed, security and sustainability play a primary role for the maintenance of Outer Space calling all the States to act diligently and responsibly in the interest of all international space community actors. The second chapter goes through the actual International legal regime for the mitigation and remediation of space debris, starting from the non-binding IADC and UNCOPUS Guide Lines, passing through the legally binding provisions set out in the International Space Law Treaties, arriving to the Space Situational Awareness system role. In the third part, it will be presented the Case Law concerning Cosmos 954 aiming at providing a concrete example of dispute settlement and to understand how the International Space regulations work. A comparison between International Environmental Law’s provisions, such as the ones included in the 1972 Stockholm Declaration or in the 1992 Rio Declaration, and the provision of Space Law promoting Outer Space and Earth natural environment is also provided. Furthermore, the United Kingdom’s Outer Space Act, entered into force in 1986, shows how international provisions on space debris shall be implemented domestically. In the end, they will be presented the possible ways of enhancing the International Legal system on space debris mitigation through three main options based on the European Center for Space Law proposal: a voluntary regime of adherence, a United Nation Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space approach or a voluntary Code of Conduct on Space Debris mitigation. To date, the possibility of reaching an agreement on an International Code of Conduct, a voluntary scheme under the coordination of the United Nations, that can combine all three options listed above, seems to be a comprehensive solution and, according to the current dynamics of international norms of Space Law, even the most concrete.

- by Eleonora Lombardi
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- International Law, International Space Law, Space Policy, European Space Agency

Spacefaring activities are currently undertaken by more actors than before, including private companies, and projects have become oriented towards long-time presence not only in outer space, but including on the surface of celestial bodies and with commercial purposes such as mining. Two states, the United States of America and Luxembourg, have recently adopted legislation that regulates commercial use of space resources by private actors. An essential challenge for these laws has been to comply with these states’ international obligations, and especially the Outer Space Treaty, which both are a party to. But it has been a matter of controversial debate both among scholars and among spacefaring states whether they actually do. This dissertation discusses whether the US’ and Luxembourg’s laws rest upon a consistent interpretation of these states’ obligations under the Outer Space Treaty. The focus on the treaty’s interpretation reflects that the treaty itself does not establish a precise regime.
The analysis leads to the conclusion that criticism of legislating nationally is justified in the case of the US’ and Luxembourg’s laws. Both avoid open breaches, but their compliance with the Outer Space Treaty’s prohibition of appropriation is questionable, and their consistence with the treaty’s principles is problematic.

Following Dennis Tito's flight to space aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule in 2001, suborbital has become a new form of commercial activity. Fueled by an eager public and decreasing prices, the industry is rapidly expanding. Because the current space law regime was originally designed for governmental exploration, it is inadequate to handle the range of legal challenges emerging from this private commercial activity. This article therefore suggests that the current legal regime is incapable of sustaining the space tourism industry and that there is an urgent need for a new international convention.

- by Yanal Abul Failat
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- Law, International Space Law, Space Politics, Space Tourism

Various space treaties, regulations and new laws have been enacted in order to maintain the crew code of conduct along with protecting the legal status of astronauts. This paper will mainly focus on the importance of legal status of the astronauts and the reason behind the crew code of conduct. The origin of astronauts' legal status has been derived from the intergovernmental space station agreement and new originated laws.1 The reasons behind giving the legal status to the astronauts are the peculiar situation and special environment in which they work. They are exposed to work in an artificially created environment where breathing and temperature are fatal in nature. Thus, the need is felt to the experts to make new regulations which should be more flexible in nature in which astronauts can cope up with the situation.2 The application of command authority in the context of space, is the Crew Code of Conduct called for by Article 11 of the 1998 IGA.3 The ISS Commander is the highest authority among the ISS crewmembers on orbit. In enforcing his or her command authority pursuant to the CCoC, the mission commander "shall have the authority to use any reasonable and necessary means to fulfil his or her responsibilities".

- by Madhavi Bohra
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- International Space Law, Air and Space Law, ASTRONAUTS

Traditional international space law attributes the right to exercise jurisdiction over the space object to the State of registry, according to Art. VIII of the Outer Space Treaty (OST). This enables the application of the so-called “quasi-territorial” criminal jurisdiction on board. However, for the first truly multinational space project so far undertaken, the International Space Station (ISS), a different rule was chosen: the active nationality principle, whereby jurisdiction over crimes committed aboard the ISS is conferred to the national State of the alleged offender (Article 22 (1) IGA). In addition, Art. 22 (2) lays down under certain restrictions the passive nationality principle, i.e. jurisdiction according to the nationality of the victim.
The ISS Inter-Governmental Agreement was thus the first legal instrument to establish concrete rules on international criminal jurisdiction in outer space. Coupled with criminal jurisdiction are two additional issues that have also been addressed by the IGA and by its related text, the ISS Crew Code of Conduct (CCOC): extradition, and the commander’s disciplinary authority on board.
In the future, legal challenges arise from mainly two kinds of potentially international space missions: private orbital stations, and interplanetary missions. The present paper explores whether the IGA rules on jurisdiction, extradition and disciplinary authority should apply to each one of these missions. It is submitted that private space endeavors should be better subject to the general rule of criminal jurisdiction of the State of registry, which would be also ultimately competent to establish the disciplinary authority on board. However, since multinational interplanetary missions will be conducted mainly by States, rules more similar to the IGA could apply. Given the highly cooperative character of such missions, the most appropriate solution would be the active nationality principle combined with rules on extradition. The commander’s disciplinary authority could be established through a special agreement of the Partner States.

- by Michael Chatzipanagiotis and +2
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- International Criminal Law, International Space Law, International Air and Space Law

Since World War I, the accepted principle has been that countries can direct flight over their regions or regional oceans. Apparently, nobody was genuinely worried about satellites and space vessels when the different traditions tending to over flight were drawn. In any case, the space soon gets to be noteworthy. One of the most punctual issues was exactly how far national sovereign power reaches out: when does airspace stop and space start.
The issues surrounding sovereignty over outer space are likely to become ever more critical as globalisation, growing pressure on resources and the need for energy and national security become acute, and the resolution of special delimitation disputes seems likely to become an important question in the twenty-first century.
This project begins shall constitute an examination of sovereignty and exploitation of resources on earth and in outer space. It provides a good overview of relevant international space law, focusing on provisions of the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement and other treaties so as to answer the debatable question of sovereignty over outer space.

- by Siddharth Badkul and +1
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- International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Air and Space Law, Outer Space Treaty

ÖZET Uzayın ve uzay faaliyetlerinin hukuki rejimi, gerek uluslararası antlaşmalarla gerek Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Kurulu İlkeleri'yle ortaya konulmuştur. Ancak mevcut hukuki rejim, uzay teknolojisinin gelişmesiyle birlikte, yeni kavram ve kurumlar bakımından tartışmaya açılmıştır. Uzay teknolojisinin uzay hukukuna etkisi bakımından literatürde en çok karşılaşılan konular; uzay trafiği, uzay çöpü, uzayın barışçıl kullanımı ve uzay turizmi olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Söz konusu tartışmalar farklı görüşleri içerse de, uzaya ilişkin mevcut uluslararası antlaşmaların belirtilen meselelere cevap vermek bakımından yetersiz kaldığı görülmektedir. Dolayısıyla uluslararası toplumun harekete geçerek, mevcut antlaşmalara ek protokoller ya da yeni uluslararası antlaşmalar yapması gerekmektedir. GİRİŞ Uzaya ve uzay faaliyetlerine ilişkin hukuki rejim, uzay faaliyetlerinin başlamasından bir süre sonra düzenlenebilmiştir. Yani hukuk, teknolojinin gerisinde kalmış, hukuki boşluk döneminde dünya ABD ile Sovyetler Birliği'nin uzay rekabetini seyretmiştir. Söz konusu seyir, insanoğlunun Ay'a ayak basmasından sonra sona ermiş, Birleşmiş Milletler bünyesinde uzaya ve uzay faaliyetlerine ilişkin bir uluslararası antlaşma yapılması gündeme gelmiştir.[33] Birleşmiş Milletler bünyesinde önce Ad Hoc olarak kurulan ve Daimi Komite'ye dönüştürülen Uzayın Barışçıl Amaçlarla Kullanılması Komitesi (COPOUS), uzayın gerek hukuki açıdan gerekse teknolojik açıdan ele alındığı bir platform olmuştur. Nitekim uzaya ilişkin uluslararası antlaşmalar önce Komite bünyesinde tartışılmış, daha sonra Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Kurulu'nda kabul edilmiştir. Uluslararası antlaşmaların içermediği bazı konular, yine Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Kurulu bünyesinde kabul edilen " İlkeler " ile düzenlenmiştir. [23] Uzaya ve uzay faaliyetlerine ilişkin hukuki rejim gerek antlaşmalar gerek Genel Kurul İlkeleri ile oluşturulmuş olsa da, teknolojinin yıldan yıla gösterdiği ilerleme, uzay faaliyetlerini etkilediği ölçüde

- by Merve Erdem Burger
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- International Space Law, Space Technology, Outer Space Law

PhD dissertation (in Ukrainian)

- by Olga Stelmakh-Drescher
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- International Law, International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Space Law

This chapter offers a detailed analysis of a very fashionable subject: space tourism. Virgin Galactic and other companies have developed prototypes of spacecraft able to navigate in the airspace and outer space for pleasure or recreation. Tourist activities may also include a long-term stay in orbital facilities or parabolic intercontinental flights for transportation. Hence, again it would be useful to establish the level of separation between airspace and outer space for the application of air law and space law to the two phases of the flight, for liability reason (e.g. damage suffered by tourists) or navigation purposes. Air law already contains these cases, the outer space law doesn’t. Another tricky aspect concerns the status of the tourist: should such person be considered an astronaut and subject to the provisions of the Space Treaties?

- by Yanal Abul Failat and +1
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- International Space Law, Space Tourism, Outer Space Law, Space Law

The Moon and Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) are increasingly gaining attention as sources of raw materials.1 They might be able to satisfy growing needs of the humans, while the limited amount of natural resources on Earth is steadily decreasing.2 For example, the Moon is rich in Helium-3, an isotope with nonradioactive properties that is expected to make fusion reactors of nuclear energy safe.3 NEAs are comprised of rare metals that are possibly worth millions of dollars4. The question must be asked whether international space law recognizes property rights of the celestial bodies to non-governmental actors. Outer Space Treaty (OST)5 seems to have some ambiguities, but in fact, it closes its own loopholes. Moon Agreement6 explicitly prohibits granting ownership of space resources to non-State actors. However, contrary to OST, it is not widely supported by the international community. In the end, this paper will suggest that rights in space should be clarified through the amendment of Moon Agreement.

- by kristina yasuda
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- International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Space Law, Moon
- by Ioannis Stribis
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- International Law, Philosophy Of Law, Public International Law, Law of the Sea

PUBLISHED IN SPACE POLICY:
The 21st Century has seen a significant increase in space activity, driven by private sector entities using space for commercial enterprises. This increased use of space is not without cost to the delicate space environment. The threat posed by human-made debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is now widely recognized as presenting a danger to current levels of space activity and a more sustainable approach is sought by private and public sector actors. This article will evaluate sustainability in LEO and whether the consensus regarding orbital debris is matched by legislative or governmental action. More broadly, however, it will be contended that notions of space sustainability have largely been restricted to LEO. This article will seek to move the sustainability debate beyond LEO, by highlighting the potential risks to delicate space environments that arise from human activity in both exploring and settling other celestial bodies. The article will attempt to reframe the discussion on sustainability, advocating legal and policy solutions that need to guide future space activity to ensure that humanity avoids replicating the problems now found in LEO.

- by Christopher J Newman
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- International Space Law, Space Law
- by Christopher J Newman
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- International Space Law, Space Policy, Space Law

Focuses on the concept of Space Traffic Management (STM), the matter which has been of high interest for many space actors in the last three decades. With the emergence of the NewSpace era, and flourishment of commercial and economic incentives for space activities, this topic has gained the attention of many space actors in the preceding decades, thus turning into a separate agenda item in the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. However, establishing and implementing such regulations is a challenging task, especially for new space actors. This article aims to assess the existing challenges of STM and provide solutions to overcome them. Firstly, this article provides the necessity of establishing such a regulation: it is evaluated and discussed while describing the requirements for achieving this goal. Secondly, the paper studies definitions provided by governmental and non-governmental entities regarding this concept and the measures taken towards its realising. Finally, the research discusses the challenges that space actors face regarding implementing this concept, both legal and practical. In conclusion, the authors highlight the importance of promoting endeavours and coordination among all current and potential space actors with due considerations for their relevancy.

- by Siavash Mirzaee and +1
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- International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Space Law, Air and Space Law

As is known, celestial bodies are full of resources, while having great economic potential. Since today private companies are involved in space activities, a number of issues arise, such as the status of celestial bodies and their resources, equality between states and environmental protection. The lack of international regulation associated with these problems can lead to environmental damage to celestial bodies during operation.
This research work has two goals, i.e. to analyze for the laws adopted by the United States and Luxembourg with respect to the exploitation of space resources, their compliance with international agreements already adopted, rights and obligations of citizens of these countries, as well as private organizations, and to analyze the two main treaties on the regime of the Moon and Outer space. The future extraction of outer space resources is the key in this research paper.
This work consists of 7 chapters. The first consists of an introduction, purpose and methods of the scientific work. The second includes an analysis of US and Luxembourg national legislations. The third and the forth chapters consider the main international agreements of space law, i.e. the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement. In addition, general basic principles such as the “non-appropriation principle”, the “principle of common benefits and interests” and the “principle of due respect” are analyzed. The fifth chapter consists of the practice of states regarding the possible extraction of space resources, as well as the principles of “jus cogens”. The sixth capter considers the activity of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in order to develop the possibility of space resources. The seventh chapter includes the conclusion and proposals regarding the extraction of space resources in the future.
Commercial mining of minerals on asteroids is not a distant, but foreseeable future. At the same time, the question whether such extraction corresponds to international law has not yet been finally resolved. The extraction of minerals on asteroids is planned in 2020-2025: we will soon have an opportunity to see how the practice of states on the acquisition by private companies of property rights for extracted natural resources will develop.

- by Sally Magomedova
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- International Law, International Space Law

Undoubtedly the importance of acquiring Earth Observation satellite information for a country is a priority since these images can have different uses such as cartography, disaster, climate change impact, border control, or in general to sustainable development, even more for developing countries. Continually, a large volume of global coverage satellite data is collected and supplied. However, availability of open-source data remains under-leveraged. For this reason, this research is focused on the study of the radar satellite images that are useful for monitoring and drug trafficking control support, through the detection of vessels used by organized crime that do not have tracking systems on board, for example, small fishing boats or those dedicated to trafficking illicit substances. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data can currently be processed from full catalogs on cloud servers (as Google Earth Engine) available to researchers who process vessel detection algorithms with optica...

- by Marco Falcon
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- International Law, Commons, Roman Law, International Space Law

Le droit et l’astronomie apparaissent au premier abord contradictoire. En effet, réconcilier science humaine et science exacte semble tenir de la gageure. Cette entreprise est néanmoins réalisable. Heureusement, car à l’impossible, nul n’est tenu. Le droit en tant que discours et comme pratique, est une réalité inhérente à toute activité sociale. Il s’imbrique ainsi dans les activités scientifiques et notamment dans l’astronomie. Leur commun dénominateur se révèle être le droit de l’espace.

- by Hamza Hamouich
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- International Law, International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Space Law

Has technology outrun the international law governing
outer space? This dilemma presents itself as private entities
become capable of space travel and new technology makes
asteroid mining a reality. Although the Outer Space Treaty’s
“non-appropriation” principle prohibits nations from
claiming sovereignty over space bodies, that restriction does
not prevent resource extraction. The non-appropriation
principle, interpreted alongside existing legal regimes,
distinguishes between forbidden appropriation and permissible
extraction. Consequently, the non-appropriation principle is
most accurately viewed as a flexible premise from which the
international community is free to fashion unique laws
governing resource extraction in outer space.

- by John G . Wrench
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- Property Rights, International Space Law, Space Law, Law and Technology

This article aims at offering a preliminary exploration, from the perspective of the law of the sea and of the protection and preservation of the marine environment of a specific use of a particular ocean area beyond national jurisdiction known as the “space cemetery”. In this area, characterized as devoid of life and of human activity, space faring nations have since the early 1970s de-orbited a diverse array of spent, derelict or otherwise no longer functional space objects, such as satellites or even entire space stations, with the double aim of ensuring the sustainability of space activities by reducing the “space junk” that orbits around Earth, and of addressing the risks that space debris may pose to people or property when falling down back to Earth, and avoiding the corresponding liability. However, these practices may pose a number of questions related to the marine environment. This article then aims at exploring in a preliminary manner the actual or potential environmental consequences of these oceanic re-entries, known as splashdowns, and at assessing, this practice in light of the general principles and specific rules – both substantive and procedural – relevant for the protection and preservation of the marine environment in areas beyond national jurisdiction, as set out in the LOSC Convention, in other relevant Treaties, as well as in customary international law. Relatedly, since the practices in questions may be simultaneously lawful and unlawful, according to which branch of international law the analyst uses as interpretive lens, this article also aims at exploring the terrain of intersection between space law and law of the sea. The aims of this article are however exploratory and as such the article will offer only a preliminary discussion of some of the relevant issues and will raise some questions, rather than assessing comprehensively the applicable law. The article will first discuss the question of the sustainability of space activities, thus presenting the problem as well as the legal framework. The it will discuss in some details one of the available options to address the problems threatening the sustainability of space activities, namely oceanic splashdowns in the so-called “spacecraft cemetery”, as well as the potential negative implications for the marine environment. Finally, it will revisit the practice of splashdowns from the perspective of the law of the sea, in order to explore some of the legal questions that may be raised in connection with the practice of splashdowns, asking specifically whether splashdowns: can be considered a form of pollution under UNCLOS; can be considered a form of dumping under UNCLOS; entail a form of cross-media pollution ex art. 195; trigger obligations of environmental impact assessment, and whether these obligations are met.

- by Vito De Lucia and +1
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- Law of the Sea, International Space Law, Marine biodiversity, International Environmental Law

"Essere primi nello spazio vuol dire essere primi in tutto". "Governare lo spazio significa governare il Mondo". Lyndon Johnson Il "quarto ambiente" 1. Il 4 ottobre 1957 con l'invio di un segnale radio dal satellite sovietico Sputnik 2 che stava, per la prima volta, orbitando intorno alla Terra, ha avuto inizio l'era spaziale. Gli americani risposero, quattro mesi dopo, con il satellite Explorer 1 3. Insieme all'era spaziale era nata anche la rivalità, tra le due potenze, per la conquista dello spazio. Una rivalità che sarà, allo stesso tempo, motore e filo 1 La definizione di "quarto ambiente" si deve al prof. Luigi Napolitano, pioniere della microgravità. Per un cenno sulla sua vita ed opera scientifica e culturale v. CAPRARA, Lo Spazio, il quarto ambiente, "Il Sole 24 Ore", Milano, 2010. 2 Lo Sputnik fu il primo satellite artificiale mandato in orbita intorno alla Terra. Venne lanciato dal cosmodromo di Baikonur dall'Unione Sovietica raggiungendo un'orbita ellittica bassa terrestre il 4 ottobre 1957; rimase in orbita per tre settimane prima che le sue batterie si esaurissero, ma continuò ad orbitare per altri due mesi prima di rientrare nell'atmosfera distruggendosi. Era costituito da una sfera di metallo levigata del diametro di 58 cm con quattro antenne radio esterne per trasmettere gli impulsi. Il suo segnale radio fu facilmente rilevabile anche dai radioamatori; la sua inclinazione orbitale di 65° e il periodo orbitale furono tali che la sua traiettoria di volo sorvolava praticamente l'intera Terra abitata. Quest' orbita fu voluta dagli scienziati sovietici poiché si voleva dare a tutto il Mondo la possibilità di captare il segnale radio del satellite così da dimostrare la superiorità tecnologica sovietica. 3 Explorer 1 (ufficialmente chiamato Satellite 1958 Alpha) fu il primo satellite artificiale lanciato dagli Stati Uniti, il terzo lanciato dall'uomo (i primi due furono gli Sputnik 1 e 2).Il suo lancio ebbe luogo il 31 gennaio 1958. La sua messa in orbita avvenne nell'ambito del programma statunitense per l'anno geofisico internazionale 1957-1958. Venne progettato e costruito dal Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) del California Institute of Technology sotto la direzione del dottor William Hayward Pickering. La strumentazione satellitare a bordo dell'Explorer 1 era invece stata costruita e progettata da James Van Allen , dell'Università Statale dell'Iowa. Con questo satellite vennero scoperte le famose "Fasce di Van Allen" che, proteggendo la Terra ed i satelliti dai raggi cosmici, hanno permesso lo sviluppo delle attività satellitari.

- by Marino Massimo De Caro
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- International Space Law, Outer Space Law, Space Law, Air and Space Law

Published in Failat, Y- A., Outer Space Law: Legal Policy and Practice (Globe Business Publishing Ltd., 2017) This paper discusses the way in which the regulation of satellites has evolved over time and highlights some of the key... more

- by Christopher J Newman
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- International Space Law, Space Law