A RE-EXAMINATION OF FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE LAW AT THE DAWN OF SPACE MINING

摘要

When the Outer Space Treaty and Moon Agreement were concluded, there existed no urgency to regulate space resources extraction activities. Four decades thereafter, technological development makes the exploitation and use of space resources not only possible, but likely a reality in the near future. At present, both governments and ambitious private actors are engaged in the development of technologies for space mining activities. The United States and Luxembourg have enacted domestic legislation to protect property rights over the resources to be extracted. Consequently, given that the context in which the Outer Space Treaty operates has become starkly different from the one in which it was conceived, there is an urgent need for a new international regime to regulate these activities. Indeed, the international community is trying to create an appropriate legal framework, in fora such as the Legal Subcommittee of United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the Hague Space Resources Governance Working Group. But before instigating such a regime, it is important to examine the contents of the Outer Space Treaty, the Magna Carta of international outer space law, especially the four fundamental principles most relevant to space mining, including the freedom of exploration and use, non-appropriation, common benefit and interests and environmental protection. This Article analyzes these fundamental principles of international space law, bearing in mind today's new circumstances where the mining of space resources is becoming feasible, so as to shed some light on their application in the context of space mining. It is submitted that the international community should cooperate to establish a legal framework on space resources activities.