It is a Sunday and as usual I have a bunch to say about the rush to exploit space….
I have been trying to educate the readers about the dash to space and the law that I see as being violated by all those in this mad dash……
To help catch my readers up with what I have stated…..
https://lobotero.com/2019/04/12/space-law/
https://lobotero.com/2019/07/16/space-law-part-2/
https://lobotero.com/2019/08/01/do-laws-apply-in-space/
Now if you have read my posts you are caught up with my feelings on the laws that should govern all space exploration…..
The US and others are considering placing nukes in space….this is a violation of the 1967 treaty that we signed….what we need is to bring space law into the 21st century…..
The legal and governance challenge that exists with respect to outer space is that the core legal frameworks for space law were all agreed upon during the Cold War. The 1967 Treaty on the Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies (aka the Outer Space Treaty) is the founding treaty, and was supplemented by the separate 1979 Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Moon Agreement). While both treaties have been in force since 1967 and 1984, respectively, adoption has been variable, with 110 parties to the Outer Space Treaty and only 18 parties to the Moon Treaty. Australia has adopted both. While the five permanent members of the UN Security Council are all parties to the Outer Space Treaty, none have adopted the Moon Treaty.
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One of the overarching international law principles that applies in outer space is “common heritage”. The common heritage principle was first promoted in the 1960s and applied to the deep seabed. Similar terms are found in the Outer Space Treaty and Moon Agreement. The common heritage principle includes non-appropriation of resources, benefit sharing and associated principles such as the freedom of scientific research, freedom of access and environmental stewardship.
Governance of outer space is also problematic, given that traditional notions of state sovereignty do not apply, and there is no overarching governing body. Within the UN, the General Assembly established in 1959 the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The Committee has a mandate to review “international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, studying space-related activities that could be undertaken by the United Nations, encouraging space research programs and studying legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space”. However, the focus of COPUOS has been on peaceful uses of outer space, and not current concerns such as the militarisation of outer space.
I like the original treaty and I think that is what it should be…..a resource used for all people of the planet….not for the exploitation of a few.
Be Smart!
Learn Stuff!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Yes, well we can all dream of a better world. Sadly we know that greed and violence will continue off world as well as on.
Yes I agree….but I just try to get people to wake the Hell up. chuq
Space news at the weekend. It’s a chuq ritual. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
I try to be consistent…LOL chuq