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Abstract

The launched of Sputnik marked the beginning of space race. Since then state always tries to develop its technology to conquer outer space, including its natural resources. Outer Space Treaty and Moon Agreement affirm that outer space as the common heritage of mankind. Therefore, any states can not claim sovereignty over the territory nor natural resources. Yet, in 2015 the United States passed the Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act which authorize its private entities to exploit and entitles them with series of rights, including the right of ownership over space resource. Thus, this paper examines the concept of the “common heritage of mankind” (“CHM”) in the Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Moon Agreement) and elaborates on the possibility of a multilateral regime for space resource exploration and utilization. Part 2 discusses the concept of the CHM and its application; it then followed by an in-depth analysis of the future multilateral regime in Part 3. Part 4 concludes that a multilateral regime, instead of a unilateral regime, shall be in the best position to balance the needs for space resource exploration and the interests of developing countries.

References

Legal Documents United Nations General Assembly, Resolution 2340 (XXII): Examination of the question of the reservation for exclusively peaceful purposes of the sea-bed and the ocean floor, and the subsoil thereof, underlying the high seas beyond the limits of present national jurisdiction, and the use of their resources in the interests of mankind (18 December 1967) United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 1833 U.N.T.S. 397 (opened for signature 10 December 1982, entered into force 1 November 1994) [UNCLOS]. Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. 1363 U.N.T.S. 3 (opened for signature 10 December 1982, entered into force 11 July 1984) [Moon Agreement]. Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, 610 U.N.T.S. 205 (entered into Force 10 October 1967) [Outer Space Treaty]. Books and book chapters Tronchetti, Fabio. The Exploration Of Natural Resources Of The Moon And Other Celectial Bodies: A Proposal For A Legal Regime. Leiden: Brill Nijhoff, 2009. Journals and periodicals Buxton, C.R. “Property in Outer Space: The Common Heritage of Mankind Principle vs. the “First in Time, First in Right” Rule.” Journal of Air Law & Commerce 69 (2004): 689 – 707. Egede, Edwin. “The Common Heritage of Mankind and the Sub-Saharan African Native Land Tenure System: A Clash of Cultures in the Interpretation of Concepts in International Law.” Journal of African Law 58, (2014): 71-88. Frakes, Jennifer. “The Common Heritage of Mankind Principle and Deep Seabed, Outer Space, and Antarctica: Will Developed and Developing Nations Reach a Compromise.” Wisconsin International Law Journal 21, (2003): 411-415. Franckx, Erik. “The International Seabed Authority and the Common Heritage of Mankind: The Need for States to Establish the Outer Limits of their Continental Shelf.” Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 25, (2010): 543-567. Fritz, Jan-Stefan, “Deep Sea Anarchy: Mining at the Frontiers of International Law,” International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 30, (2015): 445-476. Goedhuis, D. “Some Recent Trends in the Interpretation and the Implementation of the Rules of International Space Law.” Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 19 (1981): 213-234. Jaeckela, Aline, Kristina M. Gjerdeb, Jeff A. Ardron. “Conserving the common heritage of humankind – Options for the deep-seabed mining regime.” Marine Policy 78, (2017): 150-157. Larschan, Bradley and Bonnie C Brennan. “Common Heritage of Mankind Principle in International Law.” Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 21, (1983): 305. Lee, Ricky J. “Creating an International Regime for Property Rights under the Moon Agreement.” Proceedings of the Colloquium on the Law of Outer Space 42, (1999): 119-147. Lewis John S. and Christopher F. Lewis. “A Proposed International Legal Regime for the Era of Private Commercial Utilization of Space.” The George Washington International Law Review 37, (2005): 745. Noyes, John E.”the Common Heritage of Mankind: Past, Present, and Future.” Denver Journal of International Law and Policy 40 (2012): 447-441. Owolabi, Kudirat Magaji W. “The Principle of the Common Heritage of Mankind.” Nnamdi Azikiwe University Journal of International Law and Jurisprudence 4, (2013): 51-56. Rana, Rana dan Harminderpal Singh. “The Common Heritage of Mankind &(and) the Final Frontier: A Revaluation of Values Constituting the International Legal Regime for Outer Space Activities.”Rutgers Law Journal 26, (1994): 26. Su, Jinyuan. “Legality of Unilateral Exploration of Space Resources under International Law.” International & Comparative Law Quarterly 66, (2017): 991-1008. Wang, Guoyu and Yangzi Tao. “Analysis and Corresponding Suggestion on the ‘2015 Space Resource Exploration and Utilization Act’ of the United States.” Aerospace China 12, (2015) Yin, Yuhai and Mingyue Wang. “A Concept Study of “Common Inherited Property of Mankind” in Outer Space Law.” Journal of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Social Science Edition) 24, (2011) Zell, Jeremy L. “Putting a Mine on the Moon: Creating an International Authority to Regulate Mining Rights in Outer Space.” Minnesota Journal of Internationa Law 15, (2006): 489 – 519. Zhao, Yun. “An International Space Authority: A Governance Model for a Space Commercialization Regime.” Journal of Space Law 30 (2004): 277-296. Web sources Tate, Karl. “Sputnik: How the World’s 1st Artificial Satellite Worked (Infographic).” Space.com. Accessed 3 October 2012, https://www.space.com/17888-first-satellite-sputnik-1-explained-infographic.html

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