Houston We Have a Law. A Model for National Regulation of Space Resources Activities.

摘要

The field of space resources activities is rapidly maturing, but we still do not have a legal regime able to cope with such development. The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space finally started to debate whether commercialization of space resources is permitted under current international space law only in 2018, and yet declaring that space resources activities are lawful is barely the start. In fact, the real challenge is how to regulate them in light of the obligations set forth in international space law, without jeopardizing their economic convenience. The present paper addresses precisely this question by presenting a draft law redacted in articles, coupled with a comprehensive explanatory note. Inter alia, the paper introduces a new "space resources activities" license and proposes a detailed authorization regime based on the grant of priority rights limited in size, number and time extension. Based on the above, the paper concludes praising the importance of domestic regulation of space resources activities, when based on the same language and spirit of the OST and coordinated through mutual recognition.