Since the dawn of the space era, scholars of legal doctrine have discussed the exploitation of space resources and they have also been faced with a dilemma over the peaceful use of outer space, although at the beginning this scientific activity was not matched, for obvious reasons, by State practice and opinio iuris. However, things have changed in recent decades. The current “rediscovery” of space and the resumption of activities related to it have led many States to take a stance on these issues. This makes a legal analysis of these developments pressing. While the Outer Space Treaty does not provide clear guidance in either field and there is a need for new international rules to safeguard fundamental public interests, international efforts will at best produce non-binding guidelines. Meanwhile, and this is the heart of the problem, we are witnessing a practice of progressively setting aside the barriers to unlawfulness in outer space with a gathering momentum of faits accomplis through an erosion of the principles of the Outer Space Treaty. Given this tendency, this article aims to ascertain what, if any, are the insurmountable legal limits deriving from the principles of non-appropriation and the peaceful use of outer space.

The Principles of Non-Appropriation and the Peaceful Use of Outer Space: between Progressive Erosion and Empowering Interpretation

diego zannoni
2024

Abstract

Since the dawn of the space era, scholars of legal doctrine have discussed the exploitation of space resources and they have also been faced with a dilemma over the peaceful use of outer space, although at the beginning this scientific activity was not matched, for obvious reasons, by State practice and opinio iuris. However, things have changed in recent decades. The current “rediscovery” of space and the resumption of activities related to it have led many States to take a stance on these issues. This makes a legal analysis of these developments pressing. While the Outer Space Treaty does not provide clear guidance in either field and there is a need for new international rules to safeguard fundamental public interests, international efforts will at best produce non-binding guidelines. Meanwhile, and this is the heart of the problem, we are witnessing a practice of progressively setting aside the barriers to unlawfulness in outer space with a gathering momentum of faits accomplis through an erosion of the principles of the Outer Space Treaty. Given this tendency, this article aims to ascertain what, if any, are the insurmountable legal limits deriving from the principles of non-appropriation and the peaceful use of outer space.
2024
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3542333
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